Hollow Kingdom
by Varrukh
Summary: What would happen if the Final Getsuga Tenshou was not enough, What if Aizen was able to make Ichigo a full hollow? What if Ichigo became the first perfect syncrinisation? here is my interpretation if things had went just a little differently
1. Chapter 1 Where All Things Begin

This is all wrong, none of this makes any sense. How could it have come to this? It all seemed to be going so well, all the Espada were defeated and posed no more threat to anyone in the real world or Soul society. The ones that were left were the overall leaders of the whole Arrancar threat, Ichimaru Gin and Aizen Sosuke. They were the last barricade to a peaceful and happy existence, if Ichigo could defeat or kill both of these men, then that was it. The nightmare would be averted and everything would be fine, his town safe, his friends out of jeopardy and both worlds still intact.

* * *

As Ichigo left the Dangai Precipice World he walked out onto the broken and ruptured ground that was once a street of the Real Karakura own. With his father over his left shoulder still he surveyed his surroundings in more detail, to his right Ichimaru lay on a raised bit of ground with blood seeping out of the area that his arm had once occupied, above him Matsumoto looked deeply into his eyes as her own leaked tears onto his face that was rapidly losing colour. Ichigo placed his father onto the ground gently,

"Thanks dad" Ichigo calmly told his unconscious father.

Ichigo looked around further and found the faces of his school friends Tatsuki, Kiego, Mizouro, even Chiziru was there, surprisingly.

"Don't worry guys this will all be over soon" Ichigo told his friends confidently.

That was when he finally looked at Aizen, he didn't even look too human anymore. He had three sets of wings extending from his back, his face had kept its almost always calm exterior except for those eyes. They just looked like they emanated pure evil or malice, the smile on his face and his arrogant voice didn't help to alleviate such a description.

"My, My Kurosaki you do sound as if you think you can stop me" Aizen pointed out with an all too confident smile

"Aizen I want to fight away from here" Ichigo almost ordered

"Again Kurosaki, you sound almost too overconfident in your own abilities" Aizen countered "I do believe that here is a fine position for us to fight don't you? Just where all of your friends can watch your demise!" Aizen finished with a loud roar and charged at Ichigo.

_Crap, we fight here, we might involuntarily destroy the town with our fight _Ichigo thought to himself. Aizen slashed at Ichigo intent to cut at Ichigo from the neck and decapitate him, Ichigo instantly dropped allowing the zanpaktou to pass over his head but heard as buildings behind him began to crumble. Looking behind him he watched as the low-lying buildings that surrounded them were crumbling as if they had been cut away.

"You should not get too interested in much else besides me Kurosaki" Aizen advised, his blade extended far to his right in the position he had stayed in after slashing at Ichigo. The satisfaction that Aizen must have been getting from this was overpowering, Ichigo could feel it from his spiritual pressure, it was full of malice, ill intent and sheer arrogance. Aizen quickly moved his hand in order to take an other stab at Ichigo, thrusting forwards Ichigo was forced to parry Aizen's attack and due to this some of the buildings to his right started to crumble as an effect. _Damn_ Ichigo thought to himself _I have to lead Aizen away from the town otherwise it's all gone_.

"My, my if we keep going like this we will destroy the town" Aizen commented as his and Ichigo's blades were still pressed against each other, Ichigo looked to the face of the traitor captain and saw his face turn into a smile

"I guess we had better leave here, otherwise all of the souls I require for the Ouken will be extinguished" Aizen admitted.

Aizen forced outwards with his zanpaktou with all of his strength and forced Ichigo's blade to vibrate from the force. As Aizen pushed he finally beat back Ichigo's blade and as his zanpaktou was able to swipe free of the zanpaktou barrier he caused a large area of ground to his right to become upturned and malformed, Ichigo could hear the screams of his friends and looked over to their direction. He felt something grab onto his clothing and looked to see Aizen's hand grabbing him tightly, with what seemed like a slight crouch and barely any force behind the jump they had shot into the air. Ichigo looked back to where his friends were in fear of the worst possible scenario his friends were in.

To his relief though he looked and saw that Aizen had unintentionally created a shield for the four of them.

* * *

After a few second Ichigo felt a strong force acting against him and was suddenly flying towards the ground at an increasing speed. As he connected with the ground again it was his back that got the full force of the impact, reeling from the burst of pain that exploded from his back Ichigo coughed up a small amount of blood. Sitting up again Aizen was in front of him simply standing there, he didn't even have his sword held at Ichigo in any form of aggression.

"You know Kurosaki, there was a reason that I wanted you to evolve and grow" Aizen started looking down to the reeling form of Ichigo starting to get back up onto his feet, his face did not change as he looked up to Aizen again

"You reminded me very much of myself, I was born vastly powerful as were you. For my goals I required one person who was on par with my power level in order to reveal to the Hogyoku My hearts true desire. That was to be stronger than even you!" Aizen finished as he lunged towards Ichigo again.

Ichigo lifted Zangetsu up in order to defend against Aizen's attack again, as their blades met the trees behind Ichigo were all blasted with shockwaves and were sliced in half. Before any of the splinters from these trees could hit the ground, Aizen had retracted his hand backwards and had swiped at Ichigo yet again, Ichigo was almost unable to block the hit this time and as a result was cut across his left arm. The blood seeping into the fabric of his black coat raced down his arm and ran off his fingertips and gave the grass a more menacing look to it. Ichigo clenched his fists and looked towards Aizen with a defiant look on his face.

"This is interesting, that cut alone should have destroyed you" Aizen pondered tracing outwards, trying to feel the strength of Ichigo's spiritual pressure but to his dismay he found none.

"Oh come now Kurosaki, you disappoint me" Aizen told his opponent lowering his blade again

"You gave up all of that wonderful spiritual pressure, al in order to strengthen all of your bodily functions. I am sorry to inform you that an enhanced body is not enough to defeat me" Aizen explained in a manner where he looked down on Ichigo. With a flap of his butterfly like wings he had assailed into the air and the gust from that motion blasted against Ichigo, only due to his legs enhanced by his monstrous spiritual pressure was he able to stand his ground.

"I am disappointed that you have went down this route, I required someone as strong as yourself in order to allow me to be on a level even close to the soul king, you have however not done as I had hoped and as an other failed specimen I must get rid of you" Aizen told Ichigo calculatedly from his high vantage point. Aizen extended his wings outwards and at the tips of all six wings balls of spiritual pressure began to swirl together and take on a solid form, the orbs took on a blue colour as they glowed against the white of Aizen's form. There was no sound as the orbs formed save from the slight breeze that had picked up as Ichigo stood waiting for the inevitable, he knew a cero when he saw one and knew exactly how to deal with this. Within the time Ichigo had to think it over he had appeared behind Aizen and had slashed at all six of the wings, causing the connection between the orbs and their power core. With this connection lost the orbs exploded involuntarily and consumed Aizen and Ichigo in a large amount of smoke, that shook the very ground so far beneath their feet.

* * *

Back where Tatsuki Kiego and Mizouro had been able to get onto their feet again they were all trying to make sense of anything that was going on. That guy before had some kind of power that they all knew Ichigo had, but his was gone and the other guy with wings had a monstrous amount, enough to ground all three of them. Not to mention the fact that over to their right a woman was crying over the last man who had tried to take on that beast of a creature who was now fighting Ichigo, he had had his arm ripped right off, with what looked like so little effort. With whatever little strength he had left he raised his right hand and cupped the woman's face in it and with a few last words his hand dropped and his head fell to it's side, he was gone. The woman became erratic and began to scream for help all the while crying.

As all three heads turned away from the sad sight they looked off in the direction Ichigo had been dragged after they had almost watched their town destroyed just because of the two men's fighting.

"Hey Tatsuki, you think Ichigo will be ok?" Kiego asked almost worried for even asking.

Tatsuki couldn't answer him, in truth she knew exactly what she wanted to say, she wanted to be able to say that of course Ichigo would win because if he was ever met with an obstacle he'd always do his best to beat it. Yet, in this situation she wasn't sure it would be that simple, she knew that when Ichigo was in that form he had a power that was unbelievably powerful in the past. It never had anything on the power that creature had though, it had the power to ground Tatsuki Kiego and Mizouro, Ichigo's never done that before and if he was going to beat that man he had better have something up his sleeve.

With that thought in mind they felt a collection of power off in the direction Ichigo had been dragged and could see the blue glow that was beginning to get larger. Tatsuki could instinctively tell it was the winged mans power because it had evil intent laced all through it, she feared that Ichigo was doomed because the amount of power being stored was monstrous. After a few second there was a large explosion and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke filled the sky as the shockwaves hit all of the situated in that part of the town. It ended up smashing all three friend's back to the ground and caused Matsumoto to be blasted from her area of mourning, as she flew through the air she was caught by a strong pair of arms. After they slid for a few metres Matsumoto felt her saviour drop to his knees, looking up to his face she saw the goatee and then the smile with closed eyes. Then when she looked down she noticed that the way the wind had blew she could see that white fabric of a haori, _he's a captain? But of what division? I've never seen that insignia before_ Matsumoto thought to herself as Isshin was forced to place her on the ground and fell backwards already overexerting himself after spending three months using his spiritual pressure to hold back the walls of the Dangai

"Tank you" came the barely audible voice of Matsumoto

"Think nothing of it" Isshin answered before losing his consciousness.

_Is that Ichigo's dad? Just how many of them are in on this?_ Tatsuki thought to herself as she saw Ichigo's father save the beautiful woman. He had the same black kimono as the woman and Ichigo and had a white fabric with a black insignia. After he saved the woman though he placed her down and fell over backwards and it looked like he was sleeping, _what a moron how can he sleep when his son is in danger?_ Tatsuki thought heatedly to herself.

* * *

Ichigo was kneeling on the ground reeling from the power of the attack Aizen had blasted at him, especially at such a close range, he was panting heavily from the attack. The only reason he was even still alive was due to his quick thinking and manoeuvrability, as the explosion had blasted both Aizen and himself, he had been blown quite a distance away and was still feeling the effects of that hit. He could hear no noise coming from Aizen and guessed he was either too far away to hear him or he was out cold. Ichigo surveyed his surroundings the remnants of trees lay upturned or destroyed at the root, the mountains behind them were cut and scarred from the shock of his own and Aizen's blades colliding.

"Bastard" came a groan directly in front of Ichigo, he looked towards the smoke and saw a form crouched over beginning to stand up tall again, that was when Ichigo saw the true extent of what had happened. Aizen wasn't panting due to pain, his body was transforming and had really started to lose resemblance of humanity. His head had become a hollows head, his arms grew out into large singular claws and he had at least three hollow holes running up his torso. His wings had changed also at the ends of each wing a set of jaws slowly clamped together as if chewing , and on the winds large eyes slowly opened eliciting a squelching noise.

"That was more painful than I had anticipated I wont deny it" Aizen groaned as he stood tall again, gaining no reply from Ichigo

"This is it Kurosaki, the level you have allowed me to reach in order to successfully attack the Soul Palace!" Aizen gloated shooting his head back and laughing, only stopping when he felt a strange effect coming over him in the direction where Ichigo stood

"This seems like the perfect time to use the new technique that Zangetsu taught me" Ichigo calmly stated to Aizen as his body was enclosed in a black spiritual pressure and shielded from view. Aizen could still feel it though, there was a huge amount of spiritual pressure pouring out of Ichigo's body and it was beginning to cover his entire body.

"You see the Final Getsuga Tenshou is when…" Ichigo began as his body began to be revealed to Aizen

"Where I become Getsuga" Ichigo finished as his body was fully revealed to Aizen.

His body was covered in a black fabric that went from his feet to his waist where it was then taken over by what looked like black ragged bandages that extended all the way up until it reached his eyes. His hair had grown longer and had changed to a deep black colour, it swayed ever so gently around his head as the breeze casually picked it out from the air. It was only when Aizen looked at Ichigo's right arm and seen the sheer amount of concentrated spiritual pressure did he realise his current predicament. Ichigo wasted no time and raised his right arm looking directly at Aizen, he saw the glint of yellow cover Ichigo's eyes for the slightest of seconds before Ichigo calmly ordered

"Mugetsu" at the mere calling of the word the entire sky began to cover over in the night.

Aizen was reeling from that one, he wasn't even directly affected by the attack, he hadn't even been physically touched. However he surmised that because he was within the field of darkness that was why he had taken some damage from the attack. As he stood up again Ichigo's look of sheer terror and fear were written all over his face. It hadn't worked! Aizen was still fine and was getting back up on to his feet. Ichigo was in no way capable of even getting up again, as his clothing all disappeared so too did the yelling voice of Zangetsu, infuriated that Ichigo had been cheated out of his relationship with his zanpaktou.

"That was indeed interesting Kurosaki, thank you for proving to me that this form is indeed strong enough" Aizen commented looking down to Ichigo who had by this point fallen to his knees and looked up to Aizen. Aizen had not been spared from injury, three of his wings had been cut off and there were many different cuts lacing all over his body, however his high speed regeneration more than made up for the cuts. The wings didn't however seem to be growing back.

"It appears I have been set back somewhat" Aizen noticed looking at the three wings he no longer had

"I do believe I shall Extinguish your life however, as you could become a problem for me later on" Aizen finished raising one of his huge claws high into the air, Ichigo could only look on in horror as the last of his power was finally sapped from his body.

"For afflicting this much pain however, I shall make sure your death causes you to attack those once close to you" Aizen added before slashing down quickly and impaling his large claw into Ichigo's back, the claw travelled through and eventually erupted through his left pectoral after piercing through his heart and leaving a gaping hole. Aizen felt a power within him manifesting his desire and sure enough a Garganta opened and Ichigo's body was consumed within the golden light. As his tattered body lifted from the ground, a person burst through the undergrowth near Aizen.

* * *

"Kurosaki-san!" a voice shouted, Aizen traced the voice and finally found the sight of a man in a green suit with a matching green and white hat, alongside the zanpaktou already released.

"Ah greetings Urahara-san" Aizen greeted the ex-captain almost warmly.

Urahara looked at the form of Aizen and finally realised just how far he had fallen, no longer did he even resemble his shinigami self. All resemblance from the smart and caring captain he had everyone believe he was, was gone now. His body was covered in a white armour of sorts, with a mask to boot that looked surprisingly similar to Ichigo's one. His form was however not without flaw he could see that it had taken some damage due to whatever Ichigo was able to pull off.

"Aizen" Urahara voiced still concerned with why Ichigo was in the grasp of a Garganta, he kept on watching until the light had consumed Ichigo and eventually disappeared, closing the Garganta.

"What did you do with Kurosaki?" Urahara queried tipping his hat slightly allowing his eyes to become shadowed

"I do not see why that would be of any interest to you" Aizen answered honestly

"I guess that makes sense" Urahara admitted before he had jumped into the air and had reached Aizen. He instantly brought Benihime up to bring it straight back down again in order to slash at the left of Aizen's chest. Aizen quickly brought up one of his large claws to deflect against the attack, Urahara allowed his zanpaktou to bounce off the claw and continued on downwards. Once he had gotten close enough he placed his left palm over the place where the Hogyoku resided and began to chant

"Of all things unholy, to those that are lost from the light, I call upon you to seal away the evils of this world. Binding Art No. 100, Chains of Torment!" Urahara finished off feeling as his spiritual pressure was drained from him in wide tendrils, these tendrils began to convulse and finally started to form chains extending directly from his hand. The chains were by the looks of it red and were heavily rusted, as they entwined their way around Aizen's form they tightened exponentially. In his bound state Aizen was unable to do anything that the ex-captain had planned, Urahara calmly stepped away confident he had stopped Aizen and started to breathe heavily.

Urahara looked at the contorted face of Aizen and could tell that Aizen was doing all in his power to try and escape from the binding chains.

"It is useless Aizen, I myself perfected that Binding Art in order to hold anything, that used the Hogyoku's power" Urahara explained to the surprised traitor

"I specifically created it in order to stop the power of my creation as soon as I had made it, I always have a back-up just in case one of my inventions is used against me" Urahara finished tipping his hat again.

"As ever Urahara-san, your knowledge far surpasses my own" Aizen admitted before closing his eyes and chuckling slightly.

Urahara sat down onto one of the tree's that had been destroyed due to the power between Ichigo and Aizen and looked over the landscape. This place had been torn apart because of their fighting and it would probably take some time before it was ever back to it's original state. He felt presences closing in on him and knew that this was not going to be the greatest of conversations he was going to have, throwing himself back onto his feet he walked towards the encroaching people and stopped just a few feet away from where Aizen knelt still bound by the chains.

* * *

"Urahara-san!" came the bubbly voice of Orihime as she bounded over to the place where she felt the overwhelming force of Ichigo's spiritual pressure, which happened to be where Aizen was still kneeling down, his head down. As Orihime approached Urahara she looked in the direction of the core of Ichigo's spiritual pressure and saw the figure kneeling in that area , she looked to Urahara expectantly, but when she saw his face and the shake of his head her heart stopped. She was not able to move, why was he shaking his head?

"Let me guess, Kurosaki got himself into even more trouble now?" Ishida's voice cut in as he analysed the huge residual spiritual pressure as Ichigo's, little did he know just what sort of effect those words would have. Orihime broke down into tears as she heard those words and fell to her knees only looking at the bloodstained grass in front of her, it had his scent in it. Then she realised something, his scent was gone, it wasn't weak or far away it was simply gone. She felt a pair of hands rising up into her armpits and lifting her up, as she looked up to the person she saw the red of his hair and knew instantly who it was.

Renji felt pity for the girl, he knew that she loved that idiot and feeling his lack of spiritual pressure in the air made even Renji feel saddened, damn it, he hated that orange-haired prick, but he would not deny that he had come close to even viewing Ichigo as one of his most trustworthy allies. Renji lifted Orihime up and held her up, feeling that if he was to let her go she'd fall again. She quietly thanked him and looked over to where a figure was kneeling with his head down, who was that?

Ishida instantly regretted saying what he had once he had seen Orihime fall to the ground like that, once Renji had picked her up again he and Renji had shared a look. Ishida expected to see a look of disgust but instead saw only understanding. Renji was not going to berate the Quincy for what he had said, truth be told if he was there first he would have probably said it and then felt as bad as Ishida did now.

Rukia alongside Chad were the last two to make it to where everyone was situated, their wounds being some of the worst. Rukia quickly noted that Renji was holding onto Orihime, _does this mean he has given in to those assets? _Rukia thought to herself angrily as she thought of Renji holding her just for her body. But as she looked more closely she realised that he was not holding on to her as much as keeping her standing, this set off alarm bells in Rukia's head. Of all the outcomes she'd be in this state there is only really one reason. Rukia used Shunpo in order to cover the distance quicker, leaving Chad behind, who after seeing the urgency in Rukia's movements and the situation of Orihime also sped up his own pace.

"Urahara-san, what is the meaning of this?" Rukia instantly questioned landing right in front of him

"I am afraid I do not know" Urahara admitted, Rukia punched him square in the jaw in her anger

"Don't lie to me! You must know! You always know, you always know more than you let on!" Rukia shouted in his face

"That may be true, but not in this case Kuchiki-san" Urahara explained his face solemn

"Now isn't this adorable, young Kurosaki has left this world, leaving behind all of those close to him" a menacing voice talked smoothly. All eyes turned to where it had come from and saw the remnants of Aizen's face, everyone there instantly became hostile, Renji drew Zambimaru while still holding Orihime up, Ishida ignited his spirit bow and Chad had already covered both of his arms.

"Don't worry about it everyone, he wont be going anywhere. He is caught in my binding Art" Urahara mentioned before any of them made any needless attacks. Renji did not listen as he wrapped his right arm around Orihime's shoulder he raised Zambimaru into the air and slashed down causing his zanpaktou to extend towards Aizen.

Just to the left of Aizen's head a tear of a Garganta began to form, in the midst two sets of clawed fingers could be seen tearing at the fabric of the very air near Aizen's head. As the Garganta fully formed and opened a figure walked through and landed on the ground right next to Aizen. Orihime and Ishida looked at the newcomer with much fear. Because before them stood a creature so un-human that it could destroy almost anything of value from life to object. The horned head lifted up and looked at all of the people before it before turning to look at the bound form of Aizen. It opened it's mouth slowly and eventually let loose a bestial roar before ensnaring Aizen's head within it's maw.

The sheer brutality of that move had everyone rooted to the spot, as the creature pulled back, it released Aizen's head. Slowly Aizen began to disintegrate into spiritual pressure, that seeped into the body of the creature that stood before them. They all had a better look at it now, it was almost as tall as Renji, had a hollow mask that had two horns that curved forwards pointing in the same direction as the eye sockets. There were markings that ran from the top of the mask across where the eye sockets were and down to the bottom of the mask, behind the head of the creature long white hair swished in the breeze. Ishida and Orihime had seen him like this not a few hours ago, the only difference they could see was where his hollow hole was situated. It was in the place his heart should be.

Zambimaru soon came back to the point of interest as it continued on it's path towards the new participant of the people present. It quickly raised it's right hand and caught the blade without even the slightest hint of pain coming from the impact. The creature looked right at him and growled, Renji quickly withdrew his zanpaktou and put it all back together. Chad and Rukia got ready to go on the offensive but Ishida dispelled his bow and looked down to the ground. Chad and Rukia were about ready to attack the hollow with what little power they still had in their injured states and even Urahara was ready to attack this new coming hollow.

"Kurosaki-kun" Orihime barely whispered, everyone stopped in their tracks as Orihime's words were released into the air and the horrible truth was revealed to them, Ichigo was a hollow.

* * *

_hey there guys here is my new story then i apologise for it's shortness, but it is an introduction chapter so expect longer chapters as the story picks up, if any of you could please drop a line about how I am doing with this story so far and if you like it at all that would be appreciated, thank you and i hope to see you again next chapter, if enough of you enjoy this one =] - Varrukh_


	2. Chapter 2 Thing of Nightmares

Ichigo was standing before them again, but no longer as the man whom they had all come to view as the kindest and concerning individual, no. He had lost all resemblance to that man now, his hollow hole and his mask made that perfectly clear to all before him. Even the ex-captain Urahara, arguably the smartest shinigami alive and one of the most powerful captains, could not help but feel the overwhelming fear of facing such an opponent. It wasn't even as if it would be an easy fight, Urahara had even trained Ichigo originally to learn the name of his zanpaktou. Then Yoruichi had trained him to attain Bankai and even though he had not seen any of it Yoruichi had told Urahara just how he had done it. Even with all of this knowledge of Ichigo, his habits and his fighting styles all seemed useless now. Although Ichigo might rely on brute power as his offence, Urahara knew that the hollow that resided within his soul however was a berserker style fighter and would pull out all stops. What a good thing it was that Urahara and Shinji stayed in contact.

Ichigo had changed all too drastically, his entire body had turned white except for the tribal tattoo's across his bare chest, some of them even extending down and on to the armour that covered his body from the waist down. On his arms, at the wrists tufts of red hair had also grown out just like the kind of man that was around Ichigo's neck. His hands themselves looked normal but as they stretched down to the fingers there were retractable claws that glinted in the partial sunlight.

For a long while he just stood there almost as if analysing each and every one of them, or as if he was unsure just what to do next. No-one besides Ishida and Orihime could comprehend what they were seeing, it couldn't be, that monster couldn't be Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun" Orihime almost breathlessly spoke, the creatures head snapped up as it looked directly at her, she almost faltered and Renji felt it as she tried to take a step backwards away from Ichigo. He held her in place and squeezed her arm to reassure her that everything was okay. Ichigo was snarling though, there was something about that name that had a definite effect on him. Well it should it was his name, but in his current state it would make absolutely no sense to him.

Once his eyes fell on Orihime something seemed to make sense however, a trace of a memory or something like that, Ichigo took a step forwards. Renji quickly pulled Orihime by her shoulders to a position behind him where he could protect her with his own body if need be. The second that he had done that it got an immediate effect from Ichigo as he let out a frustrated roar. Looking between the two people the spiritual pressure around him began to get dangerous, his hair began to float in the air, lifted by the spiritual pressure escaping his body. Then as it began to take a visible form, red flames began to race all over his body as he became ever more powerful. Everyone could feel it and everyone feared it.

Even Urahara in all of his experience had never felt a hollow this powerful, this must have been the power of a hollow at least at Vasto Lorde level. The spiritual pressure was almost threatening, as it blasted forth from Ichigo it hit on them all in waves, it eventually forced Orihime to barge her way in front of Renji and place a barrier in front of them. As soon as Orihime was in clear view again however Ichigo's spiritual pressure calmed down quickly, it was as if it recognised her. Ichigo slowly resumed his walk towards the orange haired teen, while she learned her lesson from the top of Las Noches and kept her barrier up. Ichigo reached the barrier eventually and held his right hand out as if to touch Orihime, as his hand neared her it eventually collided with the barrier and sent a shock right up his arm. Enraged Ichigo roared at the barrier and lifted his hand up, it became coated in his red spiritual pressure.

Everyone, as injured as they all were activated their respective powers and charged at Ichigo, Chad managed to get his Right Arm Of the Giant in front of Ichigo's fist and took the full force of the hit. The shockwave coming from the impact caused all of the tall grass around them to be instantly flattened and even managed to upturn some of the trees that had only been able to keep their roots after Ichigo and Aizen's bout. Ichigo looked at Chad who now sported a broken arm due to that amount of strength, he brought his left fist upwards coated with his spiritual pressure intent on destroying Chad. His hand was unable to connect as it had been stopped by a searing pain that he suddenly felt in his limb, looking down he saw a huge skeletal snakes head biting into his arm deeply. Ichigo removed his right fist which had embedded itself deeply within Chad's arm and grabbed at the snake's head. Aiming for the eye Ichigo jabbed his hand back and forward and grabbed the snakes eye in between his fingers. Pulling back hard he had the creature's eye in his hand and the beast was forced to pull back in agony, Ichigo could hear as Renji screamed in agony, feeling the effects of Hihio Zabimaru's screams in his own head.

"Licht Regen" came Ishida's strained voice as a hail of arrows rained down on Ichigo at eh same time as Urahara had seen his own opportunity to call out

"Sing Benihime" sending his screaming attack into the midst of the spiritron arrows. As the smoke started to settle it was Rukia's turn and she charge in and prepared herself for the finale.

"Sode No Shirayuki, Ha-" Rukia was unable to finish her attack, even as the ice began to form at the tip of her blade she could not do it. She looked at the form of Ichigo, his mask had been broken over his right eye and his face had come back into view, what little she could see anyway. It had his trademark scowl still in place, and as he started to shake all over the place screaming in his agony Rukia landed on the ground again. A large Garganta opened up above Ichigo and he was quickly whisked up into it, away from all of those had once had as allies, now all unfortunately with the task of one day having to kill him.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo**_

The perpetual night air was freezing cold as a singular hollow stalked the landscape in search of any kind of meal, or excuse for a meal to be precise. Damn how scarce things became once you left the hollow forest, it was as if nothing lived outside of there, the taste of Gillian had grown stale and all this hollow wanted was something on his own level of power to satiate his hunger.

Above him a Garganta opened up, the hollow became excited instantly, it could feel the spiritual pressure and knew it to be overly nutritious. Running over to the place where the Garganta had opened on all four limbs it finally came to a stop under the Garganta as the other hollow came falling through and hit the ground. The pale white form and the fact that it's size meant that it was almost definitely a Vasto Lorde level hollow, just his luck, he would get a huge boost from this one and be well on his way to become a Vasto Lorde himself.

Coming closer to the hollow that had newly arrived the first hollow became giddy with anticipation, the newcomer was even completely out of it, this made things so much more easier. Opening it's mouth it closed in on the hollow it's larger mouth easily able to devour this smaller hollow whole. It never got the chance to get it's meal, as it closed it's jaw around the smaller creature it was suddenly stopped right in it's tracks. It could not close it's mouth, this made no sense what possibly had gotten in his way to stop him from his meal?

It felt as if the force stopping his bite was acting against him even stronger as his jaws began to open again against his own will. He tried to bite down even harder but found that his jaws were simply unable to do even that. His mouth began to open even further and he could feel the edges of his mouth straining and becoming increasingly more painful. He started to groan in the pain he had found himself in, the sides of his jaws began to tear as the force kept on acting against his own will. He screamed in pain as his jaws were basically being ripped apart, he didn't even have his sturdy mask to help him since the injury was being caused to his inner mouth.

The hollow's screams echoed out into the ever night landscape of Hueco Mundo and only finished as he finally gave up his fight with his jaw and the top of his head was quickly snapped right off, allowing a rather strange pool of blood to stream down it's chest as it finally fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

A smaller form lifted the remnants of the hollow's head from it's own body and slowly lifted itself up from the ground. He felt enraged that he had been found in two such situations, first the humans and shinigami, now this hollow.

It remembered all of the incidents perfectly, he had awoken here already and had instantly opened a gateway to the last place where the one that had killed him was. Once he had got there he took his swift vengeance, relishing the small amount of sustenance that it allowed him, feeling around however he noticed the substantial amount of more food that he could consume. But there was that orange haired woman who had spoken something that he felt he remembered, it was as if that word had reminded him of something. He turned to her an felt he recognised her, taking a step to confirm this the red-haired shinigami stood in front of her protecting her. He felt angry instantly, that shinigami believed he could stop him from his goal?

The orange haired girl stood out from behind the shinigami as his anger escalated and brought out an orange type of bubble, that calmed him down instantly, he remembered that. It had something to do with him and that woman, he walked forwards and went to touch it, but as he did so he got a large shock from the bubble. He brought his hand back in anger and quickly charged spiritual pressure into his hand intent on breaking this barrier between himself and the woman. He was stopped by a man with a big shield for an arm, dispatching that man he tried again with his other hand only to have that arm caught by a giant snake. When they were dealt with he was then his with a volley of spiritual energy and then a more concentrated one, reeling from the pain of that, once the smoke had cleared a shinigami much smaller than himself prepared to attack but stopped, only just sparing his life.

He felt dirty after that, he needed no pity from anyone, if anything it made him feel weak. It made him feel almost as if she did not even view him as a threat, he felt he knew her also but a feeling in the back of his mind told him that he loathed her. That other female however she mystified him, she was important to him that was for sure, and that name she had called him meant something too.

"Kurosaki-kun eh? I wonder who that is?" he called out to the night sky, his voice an evil echo wondering who this person was and why it had anything to do with him, and why that woman called him it.

He stood there pondering about it for a long time, the connection with the woman, that name and him. She was in his memories, he had no other memories, all he could remember or what little he could for that matter were her face. He remembered seeing it smiling, contorted in fear and with tears running down her cheeks as differing things happened to her. But for the life of him he could not work out just what it all meant. In his frustration he turned around and looked at the carcass of the hollow he had dispatched earlier, feeling his anger levels rising quickly he dived into the carcass ripping bits off it in his rage infested eating. He could have probably just simply absorbed the hollow but in his current state he just wanted to get to grips with something.

As memories of the shinigami and the humans came back into his mind he became even more angry, as he tore away more chunks of the hollow he replayed the events over in his mind. He went over the faces of all of the people he had faced, labelling them all as enemies as they crossed his mind, then as Orihime's face came into his mind he spoke out loudly this time,

"She must be their leader" he hissed out before diving right back into the massacre of the meal he was eating.

After his assessment it all seemed to be much clearer, she was his nemesis obviously, from his tie as a human or shinigami, she was his enemy who had tried to tempt him to give in to her demands. She had tried being happy for him and she had even tried to gain pity from him by using the tears, then her face in fear must have been when he had managed to beat her back down and prove her tricks wouldn't work on him. Those shinigami and humans must have been those that she had managed to ensnare into her command, very well if that was the way things were he was glad he had been able to resister in his past life. He would destroy her if she ever got in his way from now on, and all of those others if they ever tried to stop him.

Once he had finished his rage fuelled meal he went over to a tree that lay not too far away from where the remnants of the hollow corpse lay slowly being blown away in the breeze. He sat at the foot of the tree thinking about it all, he could feel the power he gained from his meal beginning to stem outwards from his stomach to all of his limbs and felt them all getting if only slightly stronger. Flexing his muscles he could feel the power that flowed through it, an addition to his own. A wave of pain bashed across his head as he realised now that his mask had not yet healed over, but as he thought about it the pain seemed to ebb away and as he brought a hand up to inspect the area of the breakage he felt it whole and secure again.

His hand fell onto his knee that he had raised as his other lay out in front of him, he looked off into the distance of the vast desert, the large moon that hung over the land like a deity gave off the only light in the desert. He looked at his surroundings, to his left the expanse of desert seemed endless until it was met with a large white wall. There was a sense of danger in his mind as he seen that wall and it made him believe that this was some place he did not want to go due to some sort of dangers hidden there. Right in front of him the desert did seem to go on endlessly until it probably came full circle and brought him back to this spot. To his right there was darkness, it was the closest thing to him, and it looked like a forest of sorts. He would investigate it later, right now he wanted to sleep, it seemed like the only thing that might have a chance of calming him down.

* * *

His dreams were haunted with memories of the fight that he had with both the shinigami and humans and with the hollow that had almost eaten him as he had arrived her. He awoke with a start and began to feel angry again, he hated the feeling of being weak and being beaten by people who were so obviously much weaker than he was. His anger only stopped as he had thought of the woman's face again, he knew what he was going to do now, he was going to get stronger until he had become powerful enough to beat this woman. He was going to become stronger so that he could beat everyone.

He got up from his sitting position and stretched his limbs allowing them some free movement after sleeping off the meal he had recently just devoured, looking over to the carcass he could see the smaller hollows taking what little scraps they possibly could. Once they saw him getting back onto his feet again they scurried away afraid of him. He smiled to himself under his mask, he might have enough power to scare them, but it wasn't enough, he wanted power that was capable of making _everything_ afraid of him.

He considered his options for a moment, he could go towards that white fortress looking thing but some feeling in that direction told him he did need to be strong in order to go near that place, the endless desert seemed like a pointless thing to trek as he would be unable to feed unless he were to come across something randomly, so after very much or very little thought, he decided that there must be some form of life in the forest to his East, surely.

Reaching the edges of the forest he could feel the immense power that was hidden within, and it excited him oh so much. To feel this power almost as if it were a tangible material, it almost drove him mad to think of it all eventually belonging to him. With much zest he ran into the forest happily ready to eat and absorb all of the possible spiritual energy presented to him.

* * *

_**Soul Society**_

That wasn't him, it just couldn't be him, how could it? Ichigo had always been such a kind and caring person, he had always said that he would protect anyone he believed were worth his time to defend in the first place. Then why? Why was he now that which he had come to detest so much? He was that monster that had tore Ulquiorra apart on the top of the dome of Las Noches and had almost went to the same extent with all of his friends.

Orihime's mind was a complete and utter mess, ever since the incident between all of her friends, herself and the man who she had come to love, she had been completely unlike herself. No-one could get a response from her, but they all knew what it was that ate away at her heart like a cancerous tumour. It was her heartbroken mind that ate away at her, she saw how the creature had seemed to be timid at first but once provoked became instantly hostile. The worst though was when she had to see his face and see the pain that was etched into the small bit of skin she could see.

All of those who were present were unable to say anything to Orihime that could chang her or for that matter cheer her up. She knew it was not their fault, they only acted as they did on her behalf, but it was exceedingly hard to accept that all of her friends had to save her from the man that she loved so strongly and even more so the fact that he was such a monster.

Orihime lay in one of the beds provided to her and her friends as they were left in the Soul Society for the last couple of days in order to get treatment for all of their injuries, Orihime was unable to treat anything with her abilities as such a trauma to her had caused her to simply lose the will to use her ability. As such they all had to receive the treatment from the kind-hearted captain of the healing barracks. She opened her eyes and looked up to the roof of her room, finding it difficult due to the darkness present and found herself drawn to the light of the moon shining in the open door of her room to the courtyard.

Looking over to her right, the form of Ishida and Chad sat and lay across the chairs in her room, neither wanted to ever leave her in her time of need. They were the best friends she could have ever hoped for but they lacked that one thing Ichigo had, her love. She smiled to herself, they were so nice to her though, they really did spoil her. She silently got out of her bed so not to wake the two men as they had probably had very little sleep, such as the reason they were sleeping in uncomfortable positions. Ishida sitting on a chair his head resting on his right hand and Chad who was stretched across a couch that was far too small to accommodate his large size. Orihime silently let herself out of her room and out into the courtyard.

She realised that she had left behind her slippers and quickly re-entered the room in order to retrieve them. Coming back outside again she took in the night-time scenery, the moon was out but it wasn't that small crescent moon she became too accustomed to during her stay in Hueco Mundo, no this was a beautiful full moon surrounded by the stars that seemed to twinkle as Orihime looked at them. This was a wonderful sight, she loved things that were bright or at least had a sparkle to them, and tonight the sky had a sparkle to it she could not see at home due to the lights of the city.

"The night sky is indeed beautiful here isn't it?" came a calm and kind voice called out to her, Orihime slowly looked down from the sky to the newcomer, she looked at the face of the man she had come to know as a shopkeeper but had recently discovered he had been a captain once.

"It is, I cant ever remember seeing the sky like this at home" Orihime commented concentrating on the sky again

"Well you wouldn't, the lights of our fair city spoil the view of the night sky for us" Urahara explained to her, to which she looked directly at him again. There were tears beginning to make their way from her eyes to her cheeks, Urahara completely and utterly clueless on how to comfort humans except from the shows he had watched in his time in the living world was unsure what course of action to take. He decided on what seemed like the most appropriate, holding out his arms he walked towards Orihime and closed his arms around the small girl. That would have been a sight to behold, the 'perverse shopkeeper' hugging the young teen without either Yoruichi or Ichigo there to intervene. In truth one is quite obvious and the other was currently stopping both Chad and Ishida from racing over and hitting Urahara.

"Now, now darling, I know it must be hard, losing a friend is never easy, I know I've lost many friends" Urahara began to explain stroking Orihime's back as she wept into his clothes

"I..Loved… h…him th… though" Orihime finally managed to gurgle out through tears and sobs.

It all made sense to Urahara now, he had heard how she had been threatened with her friend's lives by that Espada and that when told she could see one person she had seen Ichigo. He knew that she had said her goodbyes to him and that she had healed his hand, as such the reason she was branded traitor.

"You know you should have seen the way in which young Kurosaki-san acted when he realised tat you had been taken" Urahara began as Orihime lifted her head up from Urahara's now damp clothes

"He would have probably forced me into doing it if I hadn't been so happy to do it anyway, he was prepared to do it all himself too, he didn't care, he was going to save you" Urahara continued looking down to Orihime smiling as he went over the events and realised Orihime's tears beginning to stem down, he was getting good at this comforting thing.

"From what Ishida-san tells me also is that unfortunatle Kurosaki-san died at least once trying to save you… yet he came back didn't he? And why? Because your words got through to him, he died for you, so I think I can say with all honestly that I do believe he loved you too" Urahara finished off looking down at a completely bewildered Orihime.

Urahara smiled once it seemed to finally sink in to Orihime's mind, the thought that Ichigo loved her back was clearly having a better effect on her, and she must be smart enough to know that even though he was dead having those feelings and moving on was just going to have to happen.

"Now Inoue-san, might I suggest that you go back to bed and get up again in the morning, we all leave for home again tomorrow okay?" Urahara asked kindly tipping his hat slightly in a light comedic sense

"Okay Urahara-san" Orihime replied as she took one last look at the beautiful night sky, she smiled to herself, Ichigo may be gone but he would be forever in her heart and there he would stay.

As Urahara watched the young woman leaving him he felt the breeze hit him as an indicator of what was to come and quickly raised his right fist in order to deflect a kick aimed right at his face

"Ah you're getting slow Yoruichi-san!" Urahara joked bringing out his fan and waving it in his face

"What are you trying to say Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked dangerously as a vein in her head popped

"Ah! Nothing maybe you could ease up on the rice, eh speed up a bit?" Urahara joked lightly to his old friend

"Shut up you idiot" Yoruichi answered him before realising something and slapping Urahara across the head before he had enough time to react

"OWW!" Urahara protested rubbing his head

"That's for bringing up the fact that Ichigo died to Orihime, even worse is you said it was for her she will probably be feeling horrible" Yoruichi hissed to him

"But Yoruichi-san look at her, she seems so much more lighter and happier than she has been all week" Urahara defensively pointed out indicating Orihime who was at that point humming a tune and swaying to it happily on her way back to her bed.

"Very well, ill let you away with it since you have somehow managed to lighten her mood, but anyway we have one last night here before we return to the world of the living and I want to enjoy myself!" Yoruichi proclaimed before grabbing Urahara by his damp clothing and leaping into the air dragging a screaming Urahara behind her.

* * *

Orihime entered her room again, finding both of her friends sitting in the seats that they had earlier been sitting in looking at her with much concern written across their faces.

"Inoue-san, are you okay?" Ishida asked softly while Chad nodded beside him, Orihime was instantly taken aback with the sudden question her friend presented with her, especially as she walked in humming happily to herself

"Yes Ishida-kun, I'm fine why?" Orihime asked sweetly giving him her first genuine smile for at least a week now.

"That is good then, I am glad that you are feeling better and whatever that Urahara man done I shall thank him for it later" Ishida commented his tense features relaxing slightly

"thank you for taking such good care of me during my sad time, and I am so glad that I have such good friends like you and Chad, Ishida-kun" Orihime answered her smile still across her face. All three friends stood in silence for a few moments as if contemplating the words that Orihime had so happily and calmly said to both men.

"Right! Now let's get some sleep before the evil blue men, stop us from sleeping at all. We go home tomorrow after all!" Orihime chimed out confidently leaping from her position onto her bed and quickly covering herself over with her covers almost instantly falling asleep with a large smile on her face. Chad and Ishida looked at each other before Ishida smiled to the large man and received a slight grunt from the man before they moved over to their respective previous beds, so that they could watch over Orihime at least until the night was over.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo **_

The power on offer here was extraordinary, in what felt like the centre of the forest it was as if he did not even need to hunt or consume anything, as he stood in the centre of the forest of the tall black creatures he could feel their power seeping into him. They tried to attack him but were simply just absorbed by him before they even had the chance to do so. He could feel his own power beginning to rise and felt an immeasurable pride in that respect, he would be stronger, he would be the best. As the image of the group of humans and shinigami standing before him came into his mind, under his mask his face twisted into an evil grin. They would all be completely defenceless the next time that they met. And as the image of Orihime's face came into his vision, his grin disappeared and he was serious with himself for a moment, when he saw her he would quickly destroy her, that way she would have absolutely no way of stopping him and his quest for revenge would be complete.

* * *

_Well you guys here you go, here is chapter 2 up, I hope that you guys have enjoyed the story so far and I hope that you will tell me if you like the way that I have been writing this story, so if you could drop a review that would be appreciated, thank you and I look forward to seeing you next chapter - Varrukh_


	3. Chapter 3 I Know That Name

The land of perpetual night screeched out almost as if it was itself in some sense of intense pain, as the source became more decipherable, it could be heard to be a hollow's roars as it was hurt or injured. Upon closing in the scene is set for a fight between two hollows of varying power, one exceedingly strong and an other not as strong but still a force to be reckoned with. Both hollows circled each other their maws drooling in anticipation for the meal that they each presented to the other, they were about equal in size and were equally ready for their feast, their only barricade being each other.

Both of the hollows rampaged towards each other as they both roared out in almost inhuman rage and caught each other's hands. Grappling with each other they did not even waste the time to look at each other, only too focused on destroying the other and adding their power to their own. They both applied a great amount of strength in order to push the other down, but with the equal amounts of power applied they were both repelled backwards. Each of them were rammed right into a tree, one of the many hundreds that surrounded them on this battlefield. Both pushed themselves out of the trees quickly and began to charge at each other again, the excitement and rage building up in the area around them almost acting as a beacon for all of those who were nearby.

As they clashed once again one hollow with their fist stopped midway before punching the other, and the second hollow with it's mouth stopped just inches from the neck of the opposite hollow. Their appearances came into view better as they had managed to situate themselves in the one area of light in the clearing. Both hollows were the same size at least, they both had thick muscled limbs and looked very much like Gorillas. The weaker of the two had a mask that had tusks protruding from the bottom of the teeth area on his mask, whereas the other hollow had a mask that looked like an alligator's. currently the alligator's mouth was barely inches away from the neck of the other hollow, as they both fought against each other's power they were completely unaware that one of the most dangerous creature of the forest had picked up on their battle and was quickly making it's way towards them.

As their stalemate seemed to be coming to an end, with the alligator masked hollow closing in for the killer bite they felt things in the air change dangerously. Both hollows instantly released each other and looked around themselves desperately for a path of retreat but found that they had managed to get themselves into an area where they were flanked on every single side by the trees of this forest, they had forgotten what had become one of the main rules of the forest, never let yourself get cornered.

After they had spent a few moments looking at each other and then at their surroundings, both hollows nodded to each other realising that if they were to survive and consume each other they would have to work together in order to get stronger. Placing themselves back to back they prepared themselves for the inevitable.

They felt it before they saw it, the strength that it possessed was simply unbelievable, that such a creature could even exist was something that kept even hollows that lived in the forest on their toes. As the power grew in strength they could feel it's effect on their bodies as it almost crushed them downwards and made it almost impossible for them to even take a breath or any other rudimentary function. As the power reached the level where it had rooted them into position finally it's source dropped down in front of them from it's high place amongst the trees.

Both of the hollows broke away from their position, they could see the size of the creature that had terrorized the forest for so long and almost took offence

"That's the reason that we are afraid to get trapped in this forest?" the tusked hollow asked his fellow hollow

"It would appear so, can't you feel his spiritual pressure though? It is monstrous" the other hollow answered

"But just look at the size of him though, he is tiny!" the first hollow complained before losing his temper and shooting his right fist forwards.

The smaller hollow didn't even flinch as the huge fist came shooting towards him, he only stood in position and raised his own right fist, coating his hand in red spiritual pressure. The giant fist was stopped instantly once it had connected with the smaller hollow's open hand, and as the shockwave shot out behind it, the smaller hollow then grabbed the fist and started to collect spiritual pressure between it's horns. In almost no time at all a huge red ball of spiritual pressure had formed and blasted out towards the tusked hollow over the small distance between both combatants. The hollow did not even stand a chance against that kind of power and was quickly dispatched, it's power slowly sucked into the other hollow who had destroyed it.

The alligator hollow watched as it's meal was destroyed and felt extremely angry, very well if this hollow had eaten him and taken his power then maybe he could eat it and gain both of their powers. That seemed like an excellent idea. With this in mind the hollow charged forwards opening it's mouth wide and generating a large purple cero in it's mouth, as it closed in on the smaller hollow however it's mouth was abruptly shut and the cero blasted its way throughout the hollows head causing it to die effectively.

The smaller hollow just stood in position as it absorbed the power from both of the hollows it had been fighting, it felt slightly dis-heartened though

"I no longer feel my power rising if I take the power from these hollows" the creature commented an evil undertone to it's voice as it looked around at it's surroundings which for the last year had been it's home and felt nothing. The hollows of the forest had become stale as time had went on, no longer did they satiate his unending hunger, they only prolonged it for a short amount of time. He needed something far more substantial, something that this world didn't offer him, to be brutally honest he wanted something of a treat. He had never tasted human before and he relished at the thought of it.

He shot his two fists upwards and tore apart at the air above him, creating the screeching effect as he tore the very air apart. Pulling himself upwards he hoisted himself into the dark void that was the Garganta.

* * *

_**The Real World**_

Orihime walked alongside her friends as they made their way along to the cinema complex in order to see the new movie that had recently been released. Walking beside her were Chad, Ishida, Tatsuki and Rukia all had barely changed in the last year except maybe all growing a slight bit taller. Rukia had been the resident shinigami ever since Ichigo had been lost to the realm of hollows and now posed as a constant threat. There were other shinigami positioned all around the town of Karakura now also, knowing full well that Rukia stood no chance against Ichigo on any level.

Rukia was however in charge of looking after the four humans who had shown themselves to be capable of having spiritual powers. Even Tatsuki had shown a certain level of control over the spiritual energy that she had recently found she had. The development of Chad Ishida and Orihime's powers had come in leaps and bounds over the last year. Ishida had perfected his Quincy arts, Chad had managed to evolve both of his arms up to their perfect stages and Orihime's healing and defensive abilities had come to a level incomparable to anything else, she still lacked very much so in her offensive capabilities but that was just down to her softer nature.

All five of the friends stopped just outside of the cinema complex and looked at the board outside the building all wondering what movie would best suit all of their tastes. They all looked to each other and smiled, they all knew what they wanted to see, it was plainly obvious. So without any words it was decided, they would see "Daybreakers", the reviews for the movie had been good so far and they expected something spectacular from the film.

One year together had done them all a world of good, these five people who were basically connected through their varying links towards a certain orange haired man, had all come together and been the support that each other had needed while coping with Ichigo's loss. Tatsuki had kept up a front the whole time trying to make it seem as if she thought him an idiot for giving up all of the power he had only for him to die. As much as she tried to put on this façade and although maybe everyone else believed her, her closest friends knew exactly what she was thinking. It was hard not to they all had the same feelings and thoughts about him.

He had been the man who would have been willing to go through Hell, high water or any manner of things in order to save or protect those that he viewed as valuable to him. They had never had the chance to thoroughly thank him for it, he had given up so much for all of them and what had they given up on behalf of him? He had given up his very life in order to try and stop all of the destruction that Aizen could do and what had they all done in return? Fought him when he had returned in a different form.

For a long time they all hated themselves for it, they felt as if they had betrayed the love that Ichigo had shown for them, they had fought him and hurt him. They spent so long hating themselves for it but they all knew, even Tatsuki included knew that Orihime was taking it all the hardest even though she refused to ever show it if she was ever having an inner conflict. That was just her though wasn't it, she was almost always a façade even to those close to her, but they all understood. She had her love stolen away from her by the clutches of hollows.

However, these outing that all five friends done frequently now had managed to help all of them to band together and come to terms with what had happened, Ichigo had died and the next time they saw him things were going to ugly, dead ugly. Until then however they were content to go in and see the movie that they had all picked out.

* * *

That power he knew that power, he had felt it almost a year ago the last time he had seen the abomination his friend had turned into. Renji quickly turned to the others in the group with him, alongside himself the group who had stayed in Karakura Town to fend off the Arrancar had came back again, having more knowledge about the area than most other shinigami. They were there basically on an all time just in case kind of benefit, the captain commander was taking no chances now that one of the most powerful shinigami had fallen and become a hollow.

Captain Hitsugaya alongside Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika all looked at Renji after they had felt the huge rise in spiritual power not too far away from them, to see his troubled face they seemed to know what it was

"Renji?" Hitsugaya slowly asked

"It's him" Renji replied after he had raised his head as if to sniff the air and lowered it again

"Right, Ikkaku" Hitsugaya ordered of the shaven headed man, to which he turned his head and looked to the white haired captain

"Yes Captain?" Ikkaku answered with his normal large grin

"I want you to go and protect Rukia and all of the other humans" Hitsugaya ordered

"What? But I'll miss the fighting!" Ikkaku tried to argue, Hitsugaya was in no mood to argue and turned on him quickly

"You are the only other person here who has perfected their Bankai, as such you will be able to protect them efficiently" Hitsugaya told him emotionlessly, Ikkaku was left speechless, how the hell did he know?

"Yes sir" Ikkaku finally answered before speeding off in the direction of the familiar cluster of spiritual pressures that was Rukia and the humans

"I should be the one to go" Renji tried to point out to Hitsugaya

"No, you would allow your personal feelings to get in the way of your better judgment" Hitsugaya answered him as both Matsumoto and Yumichika stayed silent waiting to go after the ominous feeling that had taken over the town. Renji hated the fact that he was denied the opportunity to defend the one that he cared for but he would prefer not to defy the orders of a captain, simply nothing short of this captain could probably beat him senseless.

"Lets go" Hitsugaya ordered and all three shinigami followed the prodigy captain

Renji could not shake the feeling of sickness that was coming over him though, he knew that he was going to have to face Ichigo again, and after one year he really was not looking forward to it. He had trained himself in order to be more ready for what he might have to face, but he doubted that Ichigo would have been any different, knowing Renji's luck if Ichigo was to retain anything of his former personality in his new one, it would be it's ability to gain huge leaps in power over far shorter amounts of time. And as they came ever closer to the area that they could feel his presence in Renji felt that this was going to be a battle that they were going to be hard pressed to win.

They reached the area that the power was coming from, and they knew they were right because they could feel the slight crushing of it's force on their bodies, but they could not see the hollow at all. Almost as if by all of their minds working as one, a black tear in the sky made itself known to all by screeching into existence, feeling the spiritual pressure pouring through the Garganta almost as if someone had released the flood waters, all of the shinigami found themselves hit with a particularly high amount of spiritual pressure. It was nothing close to the power that this person had once controlled, maybe reaching the power of an Adujchas, but even then that was a power to be reckoned with.

The hollow stepped out of the Garganta casually and stood before all of the shinigami content to just idly stand there, it looked at them, seen the black kimono and simply turned around and used Sonido, instantly disappearing from their view.

"Shit!" Renji yelled before he chased after the hollow in the direction it had turned, quickly followed by Hitsugaya , Matsumoto and Yumichika. It took only seconds to register where the hollow was headed, the direction that Ikkaku had went. It seemed like it was a good thing that Hitsugaya had sent Ikkaku, if it was Ichigo who had indeed came through then they were going to need someone who had fought him before and had done so not at their full potential.

* * *

He had stepped out of the black void of the Garganta to be met with the weak spiritual pressures that were supposed to excite him, this was what lower level hollows consumed? How sad, no wonder they never get any stronger, these souls offer almost little to no sustenance. He had however stepped out to be met with four shinigami and although he would not admit it, he had basically been met with a hollows worst nightmare, one of the few things capable of fighting a hollow. He however had sensed something absolutely delicious, there was a collection of different spiritual pressures that together seemed to harmonise and create one huge beacon that screamed to him, power.

He had turned from those shinigami confident in his speedy ability and had blasted off in the direction of the huge spiritual pressure, anticipation coated his maw in the form of saliva running down his mask, over his teeth and even dripping off the mask altogether. This left a moist trail behind him that he could not really control, but to be honest he did not care, he planned to consume this power and return home anyway.

Tearing through the sky with the aid of Sonido he neared the hug of spiritual pressure, he stopped right above where he could feel the power spilling from. He stood there for a fraction of a second before a figure rose with a surprising amount of speed towards him, he cocked his head at the blur until he could make out the black of a kimono and the sheen of a blade and understood clearly.

Ikkaku's blade cut through the air with ease and was only stopped when it was caught in the red spiritual pressure enhanced hand of what was once Ichigo. Ikkaku wasn't for one second perturbed and brought his scabbard up as Ichigo brought his other hand towards him coated in spiritual pressure. Ikkaku still felt the force of the hit and felt as his scabbard was sent back a bit in his grip, he looked at the face that had once been Ichigo's, now covered by a mask that seemed to represent just how much he was lost to all of them. It looked just far too sinister to even be Ichigo at any point in time. Ikkaku remembered facing him the last time, and remembered how full of hope Ichigo was, even going as far as to take on his captain. Who arguably is the strongest close combat fighting shinigami besides the captain commander himself.

This creature held nothing of his old optimism, all that this creature represented now was his fear, his anger and his hatred. Accompanied by the unfortunate side-effect of the hunger that all hollows were subjected to. Ichigo was gone to them all, this was made painstakingly clear also by the large hole that now went right through the area where his heart should be. Ikkaku looked at Ichigo sadly, he wished that he had been able to fight Ichigo again before he had died, he would have very much liked to have tested his own Bankai against Ichigo's one. Alas he would never get that privilege due to the circumstances he now found himself in, on that note he had to bring himself back from his dreams as a flicker of spiritual pressure had began to build up in between the horns on Ichigo's mask.

Ikkaku jumped backwards completing a back flip and narrowly avoiding a huge red cero that was aimed right at him. He landed in the air again just opposite Ichigo, to see the hollow had not even been moved after he had done such an attack. Ikkaku glanced behind himself and saw the core continue onwards through the darkening sky. He turned around only to see Ichigo's mask right in front of him and hear the hiss as Ichigo opened his mouth and let loose a roar that shook the very earth.

Ikkaku quickly corrected himself and jumped back away from the creature, he could feel the power of the hollow and knew it was no normal hollow, hell Ichigo was no normal shinigami either. He brought his scabbard and zanpaktou together the end of his hilt touching the opening of his scabbard.

"Grow, Hozukimaru" he called out as his zanpaktou morphed into it's spear form.

Ikkaku instantly charged at Ichigo again ready to get the fight that he had been wanting for so long, too many low level hollow had not satiated his hunger for a good fight.

Ikkaku swung his weapon in a wide arc trying to catch Ichigo within the arc, in order to do some degree of damage to him. The bladed edge of his weapon was caught in a red covered hand and held in position as Ichigo performed the same movement he had doen before. Ikkaku quickly tried to defend himself splitting his staff into it's three individual wooden parts he sent the end bit towards Ichigo's mask, in order to disorientate him for a moment. Connecting with the mask it had the desired effect. He was unable to see however that the place where he had hit the mask - just below the jaw-line on the left hand side of the mask - a small crack almost barely visible had formed.

Ichigo seemed to get angry after that one since his spiritual pressure took on a rise after Ikkaku had hit him like that. Ikkaku withdrew his weapon and cut across Ichigo's hand in the same movement causing a small amount of blood to spurt out. Ichigo grunted in pain for a second and then went back on the offensive. His red covered hands were dealing blow after blow in Ikkaku's direction, unfortunately never quite connecting with Ikkaku's face as he kept dipping and weaving away from the blows.

Ikkaku was slowly beginning to enjoy himself, this hollow was making this fight enjoyable, he wasn't going down easily and every cut he managed to get on the creature it just shrugged off and continued onwards, each scratch that the creature inflicted on him was given the same regards. Ikkaku managed to get a particularly deep cut across the mid section of Ichigo's stomach causing the creature to groan in pain.

"Damn you, shinigami!" Ichigo hissed as he clutched at his stomach, before the bubble effect of his instant regeneration took hold

"What the hell!" Ikkaku hissed to the night sky

"You will die, shinigami!" Ichigo roared as he looked up again, his spiritual pressure rising to all new levels and making him a much more menacing opponent.

* * *

They all felt the rise in the spiritual pressure and promptly left the cinema complex - at a really good part in the film too. Running outside all five friends were able to bear witness to the battle that was taking place between a hollow and a shinigami, the hollow was even around about the same size as the shinigami. They were exchanging blows, and neither seemed to be gaining the upper hand until the hollow sustained an injury to it's midsection and stood in midair holding onto it's cut. After some time though it just went back on the offensive with it's spiritual pressure rising slightly again.

"That is a particularly strong hollow" Ishida noted to everyone

"Who is fighting it?" Tatsuki asked Ishida still looking upwards at the battle taking place

"I think it is that Madarame man" Ishida answered, his brow tightening a bit as he thought about who the man was

"The hollow has a surprising amount of spiritual pressure though, I doubt that Ikkaku will be able to take much more" Rukia pointed out

"Then we should help him!" Orihime decided for everyone, and after receiving approving glances from her friends they all set off in order to help Ikkaku, mainly because they knew he would much more prefer not to use Bankai.

Chad, Tatsuki and Rukia pushed off from the ground and headed up into the air as Orihime created a barrier on the ground and Ishida stood behind the barrier and prepared to fire at the precise right time. Chad and Tatsuki came up first, Ikkaku could see the two humans speeding in his direction and knew that they stood no chance against this hollow, especially since it was really Ichigo.

"What are you doing? Run!" Ikkaku yelled at them, but his lapse in his concentration on the fight cost him dearly. Ichigo had taken the opportunity and had appeared behind Ikkaku both of his fists covered in spiritual pressure and blasted them onto his back. Ikkaku fell to the ground, his body limp after such a brute amount of spiritual pressure had been blasted at his back.

Ichigo instantly took a moment to look up again and recognised two of the three people before him, and those two were not faces he had seen in his happier dreams. His growl was evident to them all and at that moment both Rukia and Chad had realised just who it was that they were facing off against. Tatsuki couldn't understand why the other two were stalling, it was only a hollow that had higher than normal spiritual pressure. She charged at it without any hesitation, hesitation gets you killed.

She charged spiritual pressure into the top of her foot and brought it up in order to connect with Ichigo's mask. Having her foot caught by Ichigo's hand was not what Tatsuki had expected, however she jumped from her position and brought her heel up to catch the face of the hollow. She didn't even get the chance to hit him, because as soon as she had lifted from the ground, Ichigo had used her weightlessness against her and threw her away from him. Tatsuki skidded back a few feet back and stopped herself, standing upright again she wasted no time in getting right back to the duty of fighting the hollow. She threw a right-handed punch which was easily batted away by the hollow, she followed it up by a left footed heel again aimed at the face which was easily caught by the hollow. Pulling her foot back she realised that the hollow had mimicked her movements and had brought it's right fist forwards to her face, she ducked under the punch and felt the force of the spiritual pressure. While in that position she was unprepared for the left heel that came around towards her face, she crossed her arms over her face and pumped spiritual pressure into the correct area before Ichigo's foot collided with it.

Tatsuki still felt the full force of the kick and was sent back much further than she had been the last time, she was stuck in her crouched position as her body tried to get over the shock of that power and as such she couldn't do anything. As Ichigo walked over to the crouching Tatsuki she couldn't believe that a hollow had beaten her at karate, the one thing she had always had over them. He finally reached her form and stood over her, neither Rukia nor Chad moved, completely unable to due to the feeling of the spiritual pressure that was starting to pool to Ichigo. Ichigo held his hand out towards Tatsuki and the red ball of a cero came into physical form.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime screamed from below, the cero that had built up in Ichigo's hand instantly evaporated as he heard that voice, both Rukia and Chad noticed this too and noticed the oppressive spiritual pressure on them had lifted.

Chad and Rukia raced for Orihime, before they even saw him disappearing and reappearing not far away from Orihime, he was instantly impaled through his shoulder by a large arrow that had been fired by Ishida. Ichigo hissed at the pain caused and looked to the thing that had managed to pierce through his armour, he fount the metal handle of the arrow and grabbed it. Pulling with all of his might he removed the arrow from his person, the arrow looked more like a sword on closer inspection. And after it had spent as much time inside Ichigo's body, it's humming had become a low pitched drone. Ichigo roared both in pain and in sheer anger, holding the sword in his right hand he charged down to the man and _that woman_.

Once he had reached the barrier that had stopped him a year ago he brought back the sword and attempted to slash at the orange barrier. He tried to cut it but found to his annoyance that it did not work and it just scratched against the surface. Irritated he took an other swing at the barrier feeling it weaken immensely as he could see the look of the woman starting to falter in his presence, finally she understood that she could not beat him! With one slash at the barrier Ichigo had broken through and the orange bubble that had surrounded Orihime shattered into it's individual pieces, Ichigo could see the tears in her eyes as the last of her strength was taken from her. The man behind her attempted to come to her aid but Ichigo quickly dispatched of him with a swing of the sword that cut across his right shoulder and caused him to fall backwards. The woman before him didn't even bother to call that man's name even after he had tried to help her, how despicable, he may be hollow but that was something disgusting.

Rukia and Chad had managed to drop down to Orihime's side by now and both stood prepared to fight against Ichigo since he seemed to be all too prepared to kill Orihime. Chad had brought out his left arm of the devil and had started to charge his power into his arm, the electrical bolts on his fingertips transferred to his entire hand as he created a fist and brought it forwards towards Ichigo's stomach

"La Muerte" he calmly called out before he slammed it into the stomach of Ichigo.

Ichigo grunted in pain as the pure brute force smashed against his body. He was forced to bend over the outstretched fist of the large man and as such was able to see the intricate designs on his arm. His vision went blurry as he looked at the arm, but before he fell unconscious he shook his head and gained all consciousness back. He grabbed the outstretched arm in front of him with both of his hands and dug his claws into the arm that had so offensively attacked him, earning screams of pain from the giant man. Grabbing even tighter still he impaled all of his claws into the flesh of the man, pulling away will all of his strength he tore Chad's arm apart. Chad screamed out in sheer agony and everyone else stood rooted in place absolutely horrified at what Ichigo had done to his most loyal friend.

As Ichigo let Chad fall to the ground he turned back on Orihime, Rukia stood in front of her ready to defend her with her very life, she knew that's what Ichigo would have wanted, even if it was him causing all the hurt and the pain. Rukia couldn't hurt him though, it was not possible for her, she had become too close to him to even think of seriously hurting him, so that when Ichigo's spiritual pressure covered fist came towards her she didn't even bother to defend and was instead thrown a long distance away.

As she flew through the air she mentally kicked herself, she had instantly forgotten about defending Orihime and now all that stood between her and Ichigo was her barrier which Ichigo had proven, he could get through if he wanted to. Rukia wasn't given long to mentally destroy herself because something stopped her, looking around she could see herself covered in a net of spiritual pressure, then she felt a familiar spiritual pressure.

Ichigo still holding onto the sword he had taken out of his body walked up to the orange haired female and looked at her, she was hiding behind her barrier, why does she always hide when her minions die for her? Ichigo, confused and angry began his onslaught of the barrier. He swiped at it with as much power as he could even going as far as to pour his own spiritual pressure into the sword he held and felt the humming coming from the blade becoming even louder. Ishida could feel the power going into Seele Schneider and could see that Orihime's barrier was slowly losing in it's battle against the sheer power of Ichigo

"INOUE-SAN!" Ishida practically yelled at the top of his voice.

Ichigo's final swipe stopped mid-swing, that name, he knew that name. his mind flooded with memories of shouting that name in desperate fear, it was a fear of losing the owner of that name, a fear of never seeing the owner of that names face again. A fear that he would never be able to tell the owner of that name something important. He stopped his sword and quickly sped over to where the man that had shouted that name lay prone on the ground

"Who is Inoue?" Ichigo asked in his bestial tone

"Wha..What?" Ishida asked weakly

"Who, is, Inoue?" Ichigo asked in his same bestial tone only slower

"She is that woman over there" Ishida answered pointing behind Ichigo

Ichigo turned around expecting to see some woman behind him who must have meant something truly significant in his human life if he feared about so much revolving around that name. when his eyes fell on Orihime however his spiritual pressure became heavy and his annoyance was apparent

"Do not play me for an idiot, human" Ichigo told Ishida turning back on him again

"I am not, that woman is Inoue-san" Ishida answered back defiantly.

Ichigo leaned down and grabbed Ishida by the collar of his clothes and lifted him into the air

"I told you not to play games with me, human!" Ichigo growled to Ishida

"I'm not! That woman is Inoue-san" Ishida re-iterated, Ichigo seemed to be really getting annoyed with the repetition that Orihime was indeed the owner of that name

"You are lying, you must be. That woman is my nemesis, the Inoue-san in my memories is one I feared for deeply, I wanted to protect her, and as I come to think about it, I believe in my human life I may even have loved the owner of that name" Ichigo finished as he thought over the memories of that name, the memories did indicate that the person called Inoue meant a significant amount to him. Ishida could only stay in the position Ichigo held him in and stare at him in surprise. He remembered Inoue-san, but how? A hollow's mind is surely wiped once they become a hollow, that why they have the masks and the hollow holes, it is a visual reminder that they have lost their hearts.

Ichigo dropped Ishida to the ground again and turned on the orange haired woman

"You, what is your name?" Ichigo demanded the orange haired girl

"Inoue Orihime" Orihime answered back meekly, keeping her barrier up, even though it was slowly losing it's power due to her fear of the hollow. Ichigo quickly appeared in front of her, his sword still by his side, Orihime looked around herself and saw that every one of those who had been there and had helped her, had been deeply injured.

"I said, what. Is. Your. Name" Ichigo re-iterated daring the female to reply in the same way

"Inoue Orihime" Orihime answered back with a little bit of emphasis to prove her point

"That's it! You've lied to me long enough! I will just kill you and find Inoue my own way!" Ichigo roared in the face of the woman before bringing his sword down on her barrier and shattering it for a second time. Ichigo raised his sword again before quietly intoning to himself

"Don't worry Inoue-san, I will find you and figure out what I wanted to tell you so badly" Ichigo finished his quiet speech.

"DIE IMPOSTOR!" Ichigo screamed at Orihime as he brought the sword down towards her exposed neck. Orihime's heart shattered, she could hear the anger in the hollow's voice, it was furious at her for telling it that Inoue was her name. why should it be furious and call her an impostor? She was the woman who went by that name, and why did the hollow even know the name? surely it would have been forgotten when Ichigo had become a hollow. Then why? Why did it hate Orihime so much that it wanted to kill her? But the worst of it was, simply was the fact that Orihime could pick out Ichigo's voice amongst the hollow's overtone and could hear his anger as it shouted at her. To hear the one man she loved shout at her with so much venom and hatred only made things worse for her.

Ichigo's blade came into close proximity with Orihime but was unable to connect with her in any way. Ichigo drew his sword back and slashed at Orihime's direction again finding that he was unable to hit her yet again.

"You will not break through that Kidou quite so easily hollow" came a cold and calculative voice.

Ichigo turned to the sound of the voice and there stood a shinigami, this one was different than the others that he had faced before though, it had a white coat over it's black uniform.

"You so easily attack your allies, and you called me a monster for executing my sister by the rules, you are very much a hypocrite, Kurosaki" the voice added.

"Who are you shinigami?" Ichigo asked annoyed at being stopped during his chance to destroy his nemesis

"That wont matter to you, Kurosaki" the voice answered emotionlessly

"However it was a dangerous move you pulled harming Rukia in that fashion, threatening my pride is a dangerous thing to do" the voice finished off before the person drew their zanpaktou and dropped it to the ground. Instead of it crashing to the ground though it fall through the ground itself.

"Bankai" he emotionlessly said before hundreds of swords appeared around them raising out of the ground and all slowly dissolved into pink petals.

* * *

_Well here you go guys, I hope you like this chapter, I was a little worried when almost no-one reviewed on my last chapter but I am not fazed, I ask that you please review this chapter and tell me if you are liking it or not thank you - Varrukh _


	4. Chapter 4 Power

Ichigo was surrounded by thousands of floating pink petals, all glinting off the light of the night sky as they danced around him.

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi" the same voice called out as the petals continued their intricate dance around Ichigo, he looked at all of the petals as they circled around him almost taunting him to try and make a move. Ichigo tried to move towards the shinigami but found his path barred when the petals created a barrier in the space between himself and the shinigami. The petals circled him for a moment before with a flicker of movement from the shinigami, they had all dove in towards Ichigo's direction. Ichigo quickly leapt out of the area where the petals all collided with each other and landed in mid-air just above where he had been standing. What he did not expect was for the petals to follow him to where he had landed and he was forced to leap again in order to avoid the petals that came screaming towards him.

Ichigo leapt around dodging many sweeping attacks from the petals and barely managing to avoid them at all. He landed on the ground again and turned to the assailing petals, he began to charge spiritual pressure in between the horns on his mask and a huge red cero took physical form. As the petals closed in on him he released the cero he had been charging and watched as the uncontrollable explosion in front of him took up much of the area they had been standing in. He was not able to bask in glory for too long as two different tendrils of petals shot at him from two different directions, he barely had enough time to drop into crab position before both tendrils met in the area his neck had once been. Pivoting on his hands he down a back-flip and landed back onto his feet and stared at the shinigami as he slowly walked towards Ichigo.

"I am impressed Kurosaki, even when you are a hollow you are still able to keep up with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, however you are finished" the shinigami finished as he stopped and the petals began their dance around him.

"Why do you people insist on calling me Kurosaki? And just who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked slightly angry

"Very well, seeing as you are as desperate to know my name, allow me to tell you, Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth squad" Byakuya told Ichigo without the slightest hint of emotion in his voice.

A captain? No wonder he was doing so poorly, somewhere in his mind he knew that the power of a captain far exceeded that of his own power. It was like it was either basic knowledge for him as a hollow or something else he could remember from a distant past he could not fully remind himself of. Ichigo knew that if he was to survive he needed to escape, and quickly, he had already proved to himself that his power was unable to match up to that of this captains. Ichigo knew that his hopes of getting a snack in the human world were up. He knew that his hopes of getting rid of that infuriating female were now at nil, he was just unable to ever kill her before she was saved by someone else. Very well, he would acquire enough power so that he could easily destroy all of her minions and kill her before any others were able to come to her aid. Ichigo gathered up spiritual pressure in his fists and raised them high into the air.

* * *

"Until we meet again princess" Ichigo said to the female who at the mention of princess had widened her eyes, Ichigo brought both of his fists down hard and shattered the earth at his feet, he was however not able to escape, quite yet. Below him the petals had raced into position and had managed to create a hollow pink ball around him, he was trapped and at the mercy of the swirling petals. He did not have to wait long as the petals shot inwards towards him with lighting speed.

Byakuya watched on emotionlessly as ever, as his thousands of pink petals crushed the hollow that had once been Ichigo Kurosaki. As much as he hated to admit it, that man had managed to teach him so much, he taught Byakuya the importance of Rukia to him, he taught Byakuya that when you are willing to fight for what you believe in you can best all odds. So it was not completely emotionless, inside Byakuya was silently mourning for the loss of what had been an excellent shinigami at one point. His inner grieving was cut short as he was brought out of his thoughts by a gasp that had escaped from the female to his right. To be honest Byakuya did feel bad at that point, he had known the joy and pain of love once before, he knew that the girl had loved Ichigo dearly and he thought the man an idiot not to feel the same way, especially after what he had gone through for her. Byakuya started to walk towards the girl, he was going to do a very unlike him gesture, by trying to soothe the pain of the female because he felt it his duty to do so as the killer of her love. Walking over the remnants of the street where they had fought Byakuya made his way to where Orihime had fallen to the ground, and had began to cry silently as she had watched the fight with Ichigo and Byakuya. Byakuya dispelled the Kidou he had erected in order to protect her and stepped within her vicinity. As Byakuya reached out towards the destroyed girl he felt Senbonzakura begin to ripple.

Turning around as quick as his body could manage, Byakuya watched as his pink petals were discarded as if they were nothing and sprayed out in varying directions. Byakuya watched as Ichigo stepped out of his self created crater, he was completely covered in scars and cuts. His blood drew intricate designs down his body as it made its path towards the ground below, his body was heaving as he took his every breath. His anger was evident but his spiritual pressure was far too low to allow him to use that anger effectively now. His mask had been cracked in different places also, yet the bubble effect quickly went to work on many of his cuts and scars, healing his mask also. Byakuya watched on in horror, his hollow version was able to use instant regeneration as well!

Ichigo stood staring at the shinigami captain, he knew that he was no match for that captain and that show that he had been a part of basically drove the point home. He knew he should not have been as flashy as he was and instantly regretted it after he had been injured in such a way. He was unable to do anything now though, his body was tired and he knew that he lacked the spiritual pressure needed to even open a Garganta. It was pathetic, he was at the mercy of that woman and her damn minions and the one that had been able to defeat him. All he could do was to try and go down with a fight at the very least. He threw his head back and roared his heart out, his eerie and deathly hollow screams ricocheting off every building around him and shaking the very earth in a close proximity around them.

Ichigo charged at Byakuya, not caring about the gap in their power, he wanted some blood and he didn't care if he was to die in the attempt, he wanted blood. If he could kill that woman then his mission would be complete as well allowing him to die happily, even if the gates of hell did open up for him and end up sending him to the worst place imaginable. Ichigo charged his remaining spiritual pressure into his fists and swung a right handed punch towards Byakuya's face, missing only by the slightest of margins. He quickly turned about on his feet and brought his other fist up to try and upper cut Byakuya, but yet again the captain evaded his hit and Ichigo was left wide open enough to allow the captain to punch him in the gut and send him backwards across the street.

* * *

Growling in his frustration Ichigo prepared to charge again but was hit in his back before he was even able to do anything causing him to fall to the ground in pain. He shot his hands out in order to stop his fall and quickly twisted his body around in order to miss a stomp aimed at his head. He could see the leg of the black haired girl he had almost killed earlier, and he could feel the sheer force she had put into that one stomp and felt the small crater she had made against his left shoulder. The girl had malice in her eyes now and her face had been twisted in one of sheer anger and fury. That face held some place in Ichigo's memories also, he could remember seeing that angry expression on that girl's face many times. Ichigo quickly dragged himself out of his memories however as he realised if she was to try that again he would not be able to stop her. He quickly grabbed at her thigh and tried to throw her over to his left, all he had managed to do was make her shift slightly and twist around trying to bring her right foot down on his mask now. Ichigo quickly tried to roll out of the way, but was unfortunate enough to have his left arm as the last part of his body to be in the path of the stomp.

Ichigo cried out in pain as the audible sounds of bones breaking could be heard, the girl seemed to take satisfaction in the pain she could tell that he was going through.

"That's what you get for trying to hurt Orihime" Tatsuki hissed at Ichigo before twisting her arm and completely separating both parts of Ichigo's arm, thus not allowing the regeneration to take place. Ichigo grabbed at her leg again and pushed against it just enough in order to lift her foot upwards to allow him to get out from under her, which proved to be a dangerous place to be. Tatsuki's leg was lifted into the air and Ichigo quickly tried to get back onto his feet again, staggering slightly he got up and looked around himself. There was yet an other shinigami with a white coat over the top of it's uniform. The red-haired shinigami was back, alongside the bald shinigami that Ichigo had fought earlier who looked worse for wear and was leaning on a shinigami who looked more like a woman than a man and a woman with blonde hair and voluptuous body. Ichigo could tell that he was done for there were simply too much opponents for him to fight alone, he was going to die a gruesome death.

He felt a strong attack hit him from behind and fell to the ground, his body so tired he was unable to even stop himself as he fell and he landed face first on the ground. The horns on his mask broke as they came into contact with the ground and sent many other cracks running up the rest of the mask upon Ichigo's face. Groaning in pain Ichigo turned onto his back to see Tatsuki standing over him again with that same look of hatred planted across her face. Yet once she realised the face that was behind the mask her face vanished from her hatred to a mixture of horror and regret. Ichigo's mask had broken across the top right and bottom left of his face and revealed to everyone present the face of the hollow. Tatsuki's momentary glitch didn't last long as she quickly became furious again. She punched right at the now exposed area of Ichigo's chin and caused his head to snap in the same direction. He barely even groaned in pain as she continued dealing blow after blow to his face, he was being slowly beaten to death by this woman. How disgusting.

No-one wanted to watch what was going on, it was far too brutal to say the least of the case, Tatsuki was beating the hollow Ichigo to a slow and painful death. She even knew it was him now and that seemed to only make her even more angry, everyone could feel her spiritual pressure rising and even both of the captains knew that there was nothing they could do now that she was this angry. Thus all of the people present had to watch on as one of the greatest heroes in the history of soul society turned hollow was slowly and mercilessly killed by his previous best friend. The tears began to stream down Tatsuki's face as her hits became softer against Ichigo's badly beaten flesh, the tears began to fall onto his white skin and caused him what small sensation he could still feel. He could feel his rage bubbling, but he was physically unable to do anything, his lack of spiritual pressure made him too vulnerable and his lack of ways to get away from this amount of enemies meant he could only ait until they finished him off.

As Tatsuki's onslaught finished, she lifted herself from Ichigo's battered body and turned to all the shinigami present, the tear streaks causing lines against her now pale skin.

"He's all yours" she told them in a hateful tone as she walked over towards Orihime. The shinigami looked amongst themselves, basically sickened by the brutality that Ichigo had been put through, the girl had not even had the decency to put him out of his misery, she could have easily destroyed him, but didn't and in stead left it for them to do so.

"I'll do it" Rukia inserted surprising everyone present

"You sure Rukia?" Renji questioned wondering if she would really be up to it

"Yes" was her short reply before she walked over to where Ichigo lay limp and barely even alive.

Rukia inwardly hated Tatsuki right now, she had gone on to do something truly horrific to Ichigo, he was unable to help it, it was within the nature of a hollow to do as he had done. Rukia came up to the battered Ichigo and looked at him, his mask was slowly breaking around his face as he lay completely unable to do anything. Then she looked into his eyes, they were no longer his warm brown ones any longer, no they had been changed to the colour of crimson. She looked at his face for a moment and felt her inner feelings battering against her chest, he was always an idiot, he always complained and he never done what he was told to. But that had always been the charm of Ichigo, to lose such a friend had done horrible things to Rukia. She had felt lonely again, as if no-one would treat her the way that Ichigo had done, as an equal. Yet she was so happily surprised when her oldest friend Renji had done just that, he treated her just the way she had always wanted, she knew it was all thanks to Ichigo that Renji had done so and silently thanked him. Closing her eyes and smiling Rukia thought about how ironic it was that an outsider and idiot had shown her that the most important thing to her had been with her almost all of her life.

Soft laughter awoke her from her happy thoughts as she looked at the body of Ichigo bouncing with his laughter. She could not figure out why he was laughing, since he was just about to die. Then she felt it, above her there was something stirring, as she shot her head backwards she looked into the very jaws of fear. Hundreds of Gillian were pulling at the very sky causing a Garganta to form, from the centre of the mass of hollows a golden light began to shoot downwards.

"Rukia look out!" Renji yelled as he used Shunpo in order to reach her in time to evacuate her from the area of the Negacion. The golden light enveloped the area that surrounded Ichigo and ripped at the earth he lay on and began to lift it into the air. His laughter became stronger as the power from the golden light began to feed into him and his regeneration began to work again. As his mask reformed and his body healed progressively quicker he stood up again and looked down at the array of shinigami and humans before him and his laughter reached new heights.

"I hope you all enjoyed being able to beat me! Because the next time we meet I will make sure that I am far stronger than even you all put together!" Ichigo yelled at all of the people down below him

"And you woman!.." Ichigo paused a moment to make sure that Orihime knew that he was talking to her "… the next time we meet I will be sure to kill you!" Ichigo finished before his laugher took over him again and resonated within the confines of the golden light, before he was taken within the grasp of the Gillian and the Garganta closed behind him, his laughs still echoing into the night.

As the laughter died down everyone was left in the street worn and tired, Orihime sill lay on the ground but had began to allow tears to trickle down her face. Ichigo wanted to kill her, the man who she loved and adored wanted her dead. Was there any fate worse than this one she was now cursed to be stuck in. she didn't even want to be alive anymore, if it only seemed to bring about a scorn in Ichigo that she had never knew him even capable of having. She just sat there on the ground completely unaware of her surroundings and caring far less about those same surroundings.

She had spent an entire year trying to get over the pain of losing Ichigo, and even though she had known he would probably return one day, she would never have guessed he would have returned with such a strong hatred for her. That was what brought her down the most, the fact that Ichigo hated her, that was worse than any physical wound she had ever endured, it was like taking her heart out and driving a blunt object right through it. What scared her the most was the way Tatsuki had acted once she did finally realise it was Ichigo she was fighting with, she just kept on hitting him. Over and over, hit after hit was pounded into his head. Orihime could feel the pain that he was going through and could see the looks on everyone else's faces, even they thought this was far too brutal for the man they had all once known. Then Tatsuki walked over to her after she had done and rested her hand on Orihime's shoulder, when she looked up she could see the sorrow and regret written within Tatsuki's eyes as the tears on her face still streamed downwards.

"I'm sorry" was all she said before she walked away from Orihime without a backwards glance.

Matsumoto quickly spied Orihime laying on the ground and swooped in to pick her up and stabilise her, lifting her up she turned to her captain with a tender look of almost motherly affection

"Captain, can I take Orihime-Chan home?" Matsumoto asked carefully trying not to step on anyone's toes, but to her luck Hitsugaya's features softened and he smiled softly at them both

"Yes, take lieutenant Abarai with you also, just in case" he added before he turned to Ikkaku and Yumichika "Let's get back to our base of operations" he told them receiving a nod from both men, and with that three of the shinigami were gone.

Matsumoto looked down to the weakened girl in her embrace and could feel the warmth as the tears she was shedding soaked into her clothes. She knew the pain of losing the man you had loved all too well, she had lost Gin at the end of the Winter War and had been in a bad way for a long time after that. That was why she knew she could help Orihime through this, even if she was a year too late in getting to her and helping her through it.

"Come on Orihime, let's get you home" Matsumoto softly said to her friend, but as she went to move she noticed that Orihime had extracted herself from Matsumoto's grip and had walked over to Ishida. She had activated her Santen Kesshun and the orange bubble hovered over Ishida's shoulder as the cut there slowly began to knit itself together. After she had finished she stood up again and silently walked away from everyone present walking towards her home. She did not even reply as Ishida thanked her for healing him, causing him to become worried about her and begin to walk towards her before he was stopped.

"Stop Ishida-kun, I believe Rangiku-san will be able to help out Inoue-san, am I right?" came a serious voice to Ishida's left, he turned around to see the serious face of Urahara looking directly at him, which was almost mirrored by Yoruichi who stood in a position not too far behind him. Matsumoto nodded at the question and ran on after Orihime disappearing into the night after her.

"Urahara-san" Ishida commented more to himself than anything else

"Also Abarai-kun would you mind tailing them slightly, just so that they are okay?" Urahara asked Renji before both girls could fully disappear from view

"Sure" Renji answered back jumping onto the nearest streetlamp and jumping from one to another along the street after Orihime and Matsumoto.

"Since when do you care as much for Inoue-san?" Ishida asked out of curiosity raising his right brow

"It is more of Yoruichi-san's concern than my own however, I will try to help dear Inoue-san whenever I am called upon" Urahara answered honestly with Yoruichi behind him nodding at his statement proving it true. Ishida required no more than Yoruichi's approval of the truth and decided not to push the shopkeeper too far. He attempted to change the subject to the one they were all curious about but could only now really ask.

"Urahara-san just what has Ichigo become?" Ishida asked bluntly, everyone who was still present looked to Ishida, but none of them could be angry or such, since they were all curious too. Even Byakuya's interest was piqued when Urahara lifted his hat from his head and held it in his hand.

"Well I'd love to sat he had turned into a simple run of the mill hollow, but unfortunately that is not the case, if he had turned into a hollow then he would be a seriously powerful one at that due to his high spiritual pressure when he was alive" Urahara took a moment to make sure everyone was still listening because he was only making this hypothesis once

"However as I made my way over here, and feeling the strength of his spiritual pressure I could feel that something was suppressing it, almost as if there was hidden spiritual pressure within his body that his body was not allowing him to access, this I believe made sense when he was left with almost no spiritual pressure by the end there. How many times did Kurosaki-san run out of spiritual pressure when he were alive?" Urahara asked more rhetorical but he still expected an answer

"Never" Rukia replied in a small voice just beside her brother, Byakuya noticed her shaking body and placed his hand on her shoulder, she instantly froze at the tender motion of her brother but soon accepted it as his changing attitude towards her.

"Exactly, which is why I have come to a conclusion, his spiritual pressure when he first re-appeared in Soul Society and not long after he had consumed Aizen was, to say the least monstrous in size and content. Once he had retreated however it's power had diminished ten-fold, I felt it slightly stronger tonight, maybe about the level of a Adujchas" Urahara was stopped as Ishida and Chad seemed to be becoming even more interested in what he had to say along with Byakuya, Rukia and even Yoruichi, even she didn't know his hypothesis yet.

"So what is your conclusion?" Ishida asked just a little impatiently

"I believe that the Hogyoku still exists within Kurosaki and that it has become a part of him" Urahara finished with his face grim, everyone took a sharp intake of breath as Urahara said those words.

"What do you mean it is a part of him? Do you mean as in the same way Aizen and it were connected?" Yoruichi asked fearful because she remembered the results last time that happened.

"No Aizen had fused with the Hogyoku, an imperfect mixture, Ichigo and the Hogyoku are one, the Hogyoku runs in his blood and is also the source of his power I think" Urahara finished off

"Well if it managed to make Aizen as strong as it did then why does it weaken Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked her long-time friend

"Alas even though it is my invention I don't fully understand it yet" Urahara admitted. Everyone was left in an uncomfortable silence as they thought over the hypothesis Urahara had put forward, if Ichigo definitely had that object within him then what was the possibility of him becoming far too strong to handle, he had already declared he would return stronger than all of them combined. Where they did not doubt he had the capability, with the Hogyoku within him that outcome was made even more possible.

* * *

Tatsuki had felt horrible as she had walked away from the scene she created, she had beaten Ichigo's face to a pulp. It seemed like the right thing to do since he had threatened Orihime and Tatsuki felt it her duty to protect Orihime. That didn't help her feel any better as she thought about the way she had mashed Ichigo's face into the ground in her anger. But as she heard laughter beginning and rising to a disgusting evil laugh she turned around to see the body she had not too long ago left for dead rising back onto it's feet fine again and shouting down to Orihime that it was going to kill her. Oh how her anger flared up again after that, very well Ichigo if you want to take an other try at attacking Orihime I hope you are ready to face me after I have become stronger too.

* * *

The pain was simply too much, Orihime couldn't stand it anymore. As much as she wanted to be with everyone, at the same time she wanted to be alone. Her heart still hurt from the mortal blows the hollowfied Ichigo had dealt to her tonight and truth be told she just wanted to be alone for the rest of the night. She knew for a fact though that wouldn't happen, there was the fact that everyone cared for her greatly including all of her friends, even if Tatsuki had simply left without saying an other word Orihime knew she regretted what she had done. And also she could feel the spiritual pressure of Matsumoto and Renji coming after her and knew although they were in no way going to do anything hurtful to her, they would not allow her the solitude she so desperately wanted. She turned about and even though she had the noticeable marks of her tears down her cheeks gave both Renji and Matsumoto one of her smiles that assured them she was fine.

"Inoue-san are you alright?" Renji asked softly before he got elbowed in the face by Matsumoto and sent across the street into a nearby building

"She obviously wants to talk to her favourite friend, idiot" Matsumoto yelled at him as he lifted himself out of the building saying "ow ow ow".

Orihime laughed a little at the show of childlike actions between the two shinigami, she knew there were no real hard feelings between the two but she had to giggle a bit at their antics, since they were a bit different.

"Hi Matsumoto-san" Orihime greeted kindly, Matsumoto instantly took notice of the mask Orihime was putting up and didn't like it at all

"Orihime, you don't have to hide your emotions from me, and Renji can disappear, he is only here to make sure we are okay" Matsumoto told Orihime as Renji nodded in confirmation having finally reached them again

"That is one strong hit you have there by the way Matsumoto-san" Renji complained as he rubbed his face where she had so brutally hit him. Matsumoto smiled widely as Orihime giggled a bit at the playful nature between the two, both people noticed her giggling and slowly became able to relax as their faces fell into satisfied smiles.

"So Orihime, how are you feeling?" Matsumoto asked quickly wanting to get through with the delicate stuff as quick as she possibly could, Orihime's smile quickly faded from her face as she was brought back to reality. Renji took note of the change in Orihime

"Would it be better if I make myself scarce?" Renji asked both woman while turning away, before he was able to leave however his shinigami uniform was grabbed from behind. Turing around he could see the sad yet smiling face of Orihime stopping him from leaving.

"Please don't think you have to leave because I am a girl, I can tell you this too, we both cared about Ichigo so I suppose you will be able to understand as well" Orihime told him, her smile never faltering

"If you say so" was all Renji could answer back with. What else could he really say? He understood that girls talk was just that, but if Orihime wanted him to stay then as a friend of both Rukia and the late Ichigo he would help Orihime in any way he could.

The three of them continued on down the street towards the apartment where Orihime stayed, she had been generally quiet the whole way there, but as they reached the front door of Orihime's apartment Renji remembered something that the hollow had said to Ishida since it had heard Orihime's last name. as Orihime hugged Matsumoto tightly and thanked her for being there Matsumoto insisted that she spend the night with Orihime just to make sure that she was okay, Orihime either didn't want to argue with her when she insisted in such a motherly way or was too exhausted to argue at all. Orihime simply nodded and headed up the stairs towards her front door and let Matsumoto in, Renji turned to leave and make a patrol around this area acting as it's protection until morning. He was however stopped by a pair of arms circling their way around his mid-section, this kind of behaviour he was used to from Rukia whenever the mood caught her but as he felt the ample amount of flesh touching his back he blushed wildly. Breaking out he turned to look at a very confused Orihime,

"I was only hugging you goodnight" Orihime explained innocently

"Oh okay sorry" Renji apologised before Orihime walked towards him and grabbed him into a hug once again, Renji didn't know what else to do but hug her back. This was nothing more than a friend hug to him and the same went for her too so he didn't know why he was getting as embarrassed, Renji lened down until his mouth was right beside Orihime's right ear and whispered into her ear

"I heard from that hollow when he was talking to Ishida, it said that your second name meant much to him, he even went as far as to say he thought he might have loved the person with that name" Renji told her as she gripped him tighter at the mention of the word love.

"Don't worry Inoue-san, I will personally make sure he remembers that" Renji told her with a heightened emphasis on his point, he didn't like to see her sad and he knew no-one really did. Also it would get him mega brownie points with Rukia if he helped Orihime out, not that he'd admit it to anyone of course. Renji pulled away from Orihime and to his delight he could see her face bright and full of hope again, yes he would even get some brownie points for that too, he liked this helping his friends out a lot more now.

Orihime walked back into her house with not so much a spring in her step but in a much brighter mood than she had been in previously, at least now with the knowledge that Ichigo's hollow confirmed the fact that Ichigo may have indeed loved her. She was still hurt that he was so intent on killing her and nothing short of he himself coming up to her and telling her that he had never meant any of it would ever be able to heal that wound, however Renji had promised her that he would make sure that he got Ichigo back to his old ways whatever it took and Orihime thought no the positive side of things believing it to be highly possible now.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo**_

He stood in the clearing of the forest, panting heavily with the bodies of hundreds of Gillian laying all around him slowly dissolving and becoming one with his power. His fury had known no bounds when he finally unleashed on the hollows that had saved him from death. It was not his anger towards them, no by no means was it that, it was simply the fact that he had been beaten so mercilessly by that female warrior and she was not even anything more than a human with spiritual awareness. That was two females on the list now, the orange haired woman and her black haired minion, they were both going to die by his hands.

Ichigo left the clearing after he had eaten the last of the Gillian, he found it to be a fruitless effort however as he had not felt his power rising in a long time, he walked on until he had exited the forest of Menos and made his way out into the perpetual darkness of the Hueco Mundo desert. Off in the distance Ichigo could make out the glittering brilliance that was the walls of Las Noches and felt the feeling of inquisitiveness take over his body. Amongst his in motives of interest however he felt both tired and wary of that place, somewhere over the last year he had regained memories about this domain, even if they were poor quality at that, he remembered that place to be a foreboding place. Something just didn't sit right with it at all. He would sleep and then when he had woken up again he would investigate the new region of his home that he had been wary of entering for so long. There was something that place offered him he could just tell, but his fear and wariness had caused him never to even think of venturing too close. When he woke up he would go there and find out it's promises.

He found a bunch of rocks in the midst of the desert not too far from the walls and settled down into a sitting position, looking right at the walls that had now shown him to hold up a large dome shaped building. Around this buildings there were the remnants of at least four different towers that looked like they had been destroyed by siege equipment or something. He forgot about the fortress quickly though, he would wait until he woke to find out it's secrets. For now he would sleep and prepare himself. He lay down on the rocks on his back and looked directly upwards at the moon settled in the night sky and felt himself drifting into a restless sleep.

* * *

_Well here you go guys I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it, and I hope you have been enjoying the story so far. If you can let me know how I am doing that would be very much appreciated, thank you very much - Varrukh_


	5. Chapter 5 Faces New And Old

Ichigo was standing staring at that shinigami, completely ready to go out with a fight, even if he was going to die, by hollow nature he wanted to go out fighting. He thought about stepping forward but before he even got the chance to do so, pain erupted through his back as a huge force was applied to the small of his back. he had managed to position himself so that he was able to miss the foot that came within inches of destroying his face. He looked up into that face and familiarity hit him with a force he had not ever felt in his hollow existence. There were memories with this female that he had, strong memories, they were not the kind of memories that enraged him however. There was a sense that the female had been friendly once, the instant he had thought that all of his spiritual pressure had been sucked away from his body and he was left with barely enough to even barely fight. He didn't want to hurt the female, she seemed to mean something to him, and he wished not to hurt her, that is why when she had began her onslaught of abuse at his face, even though he had little spiritual pressure he just accepted it. He knew he had done something to this important person in order for them to shed tears over him while they destroyed him.

It hurt him heavily, the pain from each blow broke a little more of his newly exposed face, her soft fists came into contact with his rough face as tears also stroked down her face and fell onto his mask. As she stood up she said something to him that he did not understand.

"You used to be a man Ichigo, Now you're nothing better than a beast" she had whispered to him as she made her way over to the orange haired woman.

"He's all yours" she said to the shinigami that surrounded him, they all looked at each other with a sort of disgust and then looked to him, eventually the smallest one, the one he had fought a year ago cam up to him with her zanpaktou at the ready. She stood over him as if she were some sort of celestial being about to do a righteous act and send him on, what she was really going to do was slash him with her zanpaktou and cause him to become particles in the wind, collecting up again somewhere else. She closed her eyes and a smile crept its way onto her face, needless to say this angered Ichigo, she thought she was able to prolong his torment in order to take sick satisfaction in dealing with him, well he was not up for it at all.

In his fury all of his spiritual pressure seemed to gather right back into his body and made him feel almost as if he was above everything and all, as he stood up his very presence seemed to have everyone present kneeling before him. All except that woman, she stood looking at him defiantly, she would not kneel to him. He started to chuckle at the woman's gall, before he lifted his right hand up to where his mask had been broken earlier, grabbing at the shard he pulled with all of his strength and as he felt the pain of the mask breaking, he also felt the surge in his power. All of his power became visible as arcing bolts of red, black and blue danced around him and causing everyone around him to fall to the ground again. With a final pull he had broken the mask that covered his face, and along with the searing pain he felt power, limitless power. As he looked around himself he could not see the woman though. He grasped at a zanpaktou he suddenly found himself holding onto, it looked like an average kitchen cleaver and then some. He found it surprising that he could hold it with only one hand but decided not to let his mind dwell on the fact as he turned his attention back towards the missing woman.

He heard a swish behind him and twisted just in time in order to turn and stop her fist that came plummeting towards his back. The force behind it caused the bones in Ichigo's left hand to shatter instantly, he retracted his hand and with a swift movement had brought his huge cleaver zanpaktou around in order to cut at her stomach. She withdrew her fist and in front of it created an orange barrier on the tip of her fingers, stopping the zanpaktou dead in it's tracks. He didn't have enough time to react, the woman pointed the index finger of her opposite hand at him in seconds and from it's tip a tiny beam erupted, moving faster than what his eyes could see. He tried to bat the thing away with his hand but found that once his hand touched it, his hand began to agonisingly disintegrate.

He did not even have enough time to cry out in pain as the beam headed straight in between his eyes and hit it's mark without much of a delay, the pain he felt was excruciating as he fell backwards and his face began to disintegrate. He took one last look at the woman before he bellowed his fury out to the world.

* * *

He sat up as quick as it is possible for him to do and looked around himself, the vast desert had not changed ever since he had left from this land to that of his own creating. His body was completely covered in the damp sweat that he had exuded while frantically rolling around in his resting place. He felt something close to him and turned around quickly to find out the source of the small amount of power, perhaps breakfast. However there was no such luck as he was met with absolutely nothing in front of him. He turned back around only to be completely scared out of his wits as he came face to face with two small girls. And that was what they were, by appearance they were two small girls, maybe about the age of four or five, both looking at him with their large eyes. One of the girls had short red hair, and her eyes were a nice emerald colour, a complete contrast of colours. The other girl had longer blue hair with beautiful purple eyes giving her a nice harmonized appearance. Both girls had small bits of bone that were extended around their neck which on closer inspection looked like the lower jaw of a skull.

They were completely different to any of the other hollows he had ever saw before, he had seen big hollows and he had seen small hollows, but never had he seen hollows with the faces of humans. He knew them to be hollows as he could feel their spiritual pressure and it was definitely hollow. Both of the girls looked at him expecting him to attack them, they were both in defensive positions at the foot of the boulder where he had slept. Getting onto his feet both of the diminutive girls took a step backwards as if in fear of the hollow who it was apparent they could easily destroy.

He jumped down to the ground before the two girls and sized them up, in reality they would stand no chance against him he towered over them in a completely unfair way. Yet in the ways of power it was they who held the upper hand, he had only a weaker amount of spiritual pressure compared to both of them. When they noticed that he did not have an aggressive line of movement within his body, both pairs of eyes met and came to a silent agreement. They both nodded their heads and looked back to Ichigo

"Why is you sleepin'?" The red haired girl asked him with a small voice only a child could have

"Because I was sleepy and wanted rest" Ichigo replied coolly

"But hollows don' need sleep, they never sleep, only we do out here" the blue haired girl stated with a more authoritive voice. She was clearly the leader of the two.

"Well I do cause I gotta rest and replenish my energy" Ichigo answered looking between the small girls

"You shouldn't need to sleep you got infinite energy in you" the small red haired girl told him matter of factly, the other girl turned to her partner and looked at her inquisitively

"What you mean he has infinite energy?" the blue haired girl asked, the other girl simply shrugged her shoulders and pointed to Ichigo

"Look yourself" she told her companion, the blue haired girl focused on Ichigo and in doing so her eyes changed colour from purple to orange.

"What is she doing?" Ichigo asked the red haired girl a little worried

"She's lookin' at your power" the girl replied casually

"Huh? She can do that?" Ichigo asked dumbfounded

"Well yeah, I can always do it cause my eyes are always in the stated but she has to activate it" the girl replied while her companion began to shake around on the spot, once she had stopped however her eyes returned to normal and she started to shake in fear

"He's a monster!" she cried to her companion who casually let the remark bounce off her

"So? He has a well of power and if we are with him no-one will mess with us!" the girl told her friend still casually

"When did I agree to let two little girls travel with me?" Ichigo asked her annoyed

"Well you don't get a choice, we may look small but even with your huge power we could beat you, simply because a lot of it is stored away" the little girl argued showing a slightly lighter side to her.

Ichigo instantly knew that he had been outvoted in this instantly and they had not even had a vote in the first place. Well they were powerful and maybe eventually when they were not aware of it he could consume them and take their power for his own, after all they were simply bathing in their own power, it'd be a shame to let it all go to waste in those small bodies unable to use it properly.

"Well lets go then, I want to go to the oasis" the red haired girl called out from behind her friend

"Oasis?" Ichigo asked in a slightly confused tone

"Yeah, what you never seen the small lake and the trees that surround it?" the little blue haired girl asked

"Well there is that forest with the Gillians" Ichigo pointed out in his defence

"No this one is where no hollows really go because there was some shinigami who came along a long time ago and only hollows who were strong enough could enter, we got in when we were running away from a hollow and we were hollow one minute and Arrancar the next" she explained further

"Arrancar?" Ichigo asked even though the name did throw up images in his head about a blue haired man who turned into a half human half panther and a black haired man who grew wings then went even further to resemble a bat.

"Yeah they're hollow that broke their masks and got shinigami powers" the blue haired girl answered

"I see" Ichigo pondered for a moment, some of those shinigami powers could come in handy for fighting that woman and especially against those shinigami, oh how he'd love to use both the hollow and shinigami powers against them.

"Okay I'll travel with you guys then" Ichigo finally gave in to the smaller creatures

"Yay we have a daddy now!" the little blue haired girl screamed while running and jumping into Ichigo's arms, Ichigo grunted with the initial force applied to him from her leap but his head started to swirl with emotion. There was something about the way that this little girl acted that made him feel a little different, not like his usual hateful ways or his angry hunger. He didn't know it to be possible but he felt an emotion that felt surprisingly positive. If he were human he would have guessed this was happiness,

_You are right Ichigo that emotion you feel, it is happiness. _a voice called out from his mind.

'who are you' he mentally called back

_Why I am the source of your power, what else?_ it answered calmly

'what do you want?' Ichigo asked the voice in his head

_Why all I wish to do is grant your hearts desire_ it answered him in a voice that sounded genderless

'this makes no sense' Ichigo mentally complained as the small bundle in his arms wrapped it's tiny arms around his broader ones, not quite making it.

_You wish to become powerful, powerful enough to destroy those humans and shinigami, correct?_ the voice asked its voice sounding agitated

'yeah, but I also want to understand these memories that continually haunt me, I see faces and hear names and memories come flooding into my mind, even with the action this little girl performed it brought back memories' Ichigo answered the voice.

_Very well, to answer those questions I suggest you go with the girls to where they speak of, as of right now I have to hold back a large amount of my power because your body in it's current state cant stand my power. Once you enter the Oasis the girl's talk about all your questions shall be answered._

'okay then, I'll go and find this place and you had better keep your side of the deal' Ichigo reminded the voice.

_Oh and Ichigo, protect those girls, they have spent so long living in fear and not knowing the feeling of safety, I brought them to you because I knew that you have the power to keep them safe. They are also important in finding the Oasis of course._

'got it keep the girls safe until I reach the Oasis, can I consume them then?' Ichigo asked his greed beginning to come back on him

_Somehow I think that thought shall be gone from your mind by the time you have your memories restored _the voice spoke gently as in his head it smiled gently. Ichigo had not heard the voice as the small bundle in his arms had relaxed in his grip and as he looked down to it he noticed the steady breathing, an indication to him that the little hollow had fallen asleep. Her companion stood atop the rocks behind him and from her vantage could look at him in the eyes.

"What's your name?" she asked gently, clearly understanding that he was now her protector and ally

"Ichigo, I think my second name is Kurosaki, it's what all the humans keep calling me, Ichigo Kurosaki" Ichigo answered looking at her with his yellow eyes shining through the mask

"Well my name is Kyota, and my sister is called Sachi" Kyota answered indicating them both as she told Ichigo their names.

Ichigo looked down to Sachi and noticed that she was sleeping very heavily, he turned back to Kyota and could see that she was tired too, if not more so.

"Kyota you look tired, come join your sister, just tell me which way to start going and we'll get underway" Ichigo told the little girl who was trying to act as tough as she could

"What no way! I can go on for months without sleep!" she replied with enthusiasm before running off in the complete opposite direction of the white fortress, _well guess I'll have to get back around to going in there, maybe that's a good thing, I should hopefully be stronger by then._ he thought to himself. With that thought he turned back around and with Sachi still firmly in his grip took off after Kyoto.

* * *

_**The human world**_

She awoke with a start as she could feel the heat of the sun blazing down on her closed eyes, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes, she had finally awoke herself to the world again. Groaning in sadness at being removed from her wonderful dream she dragged herself upright on her bed and sat at the endge of her bed rubbing her still tired eyes. Looking at her bedside table she saw the clock indicating the time to be 8:00 am. It was time she got up anyway grunting as she pushed herself up from her bed she walked over to her dresser and pulled out some random clothes, whatever came to her hands first really. Pulling out a pink t-shirt with a white bunny on the front and a pair of blue jeans, she then ruffled through underwear, bra's and socks picking out a matching set of white underwear and bra and a pair of white socks, lets go for a white undergarment day, why not?

She threw the clothes onto her bed and walked through the hallway of her lonely home, until she came to the doorway of her bathroom. Walking in she planned to put on a shower but decided against it, in stead opting to go for a bath, she just wanted to relax today, after all what were Saturdays all about if not to just relax and do nothing? Turning on her bath she then went through to her kitchen to grab a small bite to eat. It was only now that she realised her pyjamas were really not the best for keeping in very much heat, even if they were a pair of trousers and a t-shirt it was still cold. With the emphasis on cold she ran through her house to her kitchen and with her speed put on some toast and began boiling the kettle.

As she prepared her own breakfast she had neglected to notice the body of Matsumoto laying across her couch. Orihime done all she could to be quiet so that she did not wake up Matsumoto, she had listened to Orihime cry all night and she deserved what little sleep she was able to get. She had been furious at Ichigo after the way he had treated Orihime but had come to the conclusion that it wasn't Ichigo's fault, he was simply slave to his emotions now. Orihime actually did not remember going through to her room at all last night, the last thing she did remember was Matsumoto was sitting on her couch with Orihime's head resting on her lap as Orihime talked to Matsumoto for what seemed like hours. Matsumoto had not complained even once, she had just stayed quiet and stroked Orihime's head as she wept about what had been happening with her feelings and all the things around Ichigo.

_I'll make some tea for Matsumoto-san also_ Orihime thought to herself thinking it the least she could do after the woman had spent so long listening to her and not even complaining. Matsumoto was like the mother she had always wanted but never had. The kettle boiled and Orihime poured both of their tea's, placing Matsumoto's on the table just in front of her sleeping form. Orihime quickly turned around went into her kitchen and grabbed her toast, applied a generous amount of butter and ate it while drinking her tea. After finishing she walked back through to her bathroom quietly, even going as far as to lock her door quietly.

Matsumoto awoke slowly to the lovely aroma of tea, she slowly opened her eyes and noticed that there was in fact a cup of tea sat directly in front of her. She smiled gently, leave it to Orihime to leave her a nice little gift for something Matsumoto would always do for free, ever since meeting Orihime Matsumoto had felt the need to protect her to shield her from the horrible things of the world. Even she knew that to be impossible, in which case she would always be there ready to hear Orihime out whenever she was down, it was simply the fact that Matsumoto cared for her as any person would their little sister.

Orihime had been through almost too much for her optimistic mind to have fully survived. After being rescued from the hell that was Hueco Mundo she had bore witness to the death of her love and not only that, the fact he had come back with a hatred of her so deep it was as if it was always that way with him. It had broken her, plain and simple, even after the words of encouragement Urahara had given her before they left the Soul Society, she had still remained broken. Only her friends seemed to be able to help her through, they had all managed to slowly bring her back to her old optimistic ways. Then this has to happen, of all things, for Ichigo to return stronger and more intent on killing her, it was really doing her no favours.

Now this is where Matsumoto found herself, sitting in Orihime's apartment drinking the tea that she had been so nicely offered. She could hear Orihime's humming from the bathroom and sighed happily to herself, _at least the old Orihime is still not completely destroyed_ Matsumoto thought to herself happily. Just as she thought this to herself there was a knock at Orihime's door, Matsumoto instantly took up a defensive stance and shed her Gigai in order to unsheathe her zanpaktou, ready to take on anything that dared try to attack Orihime. As she opened the door she quickly got her zanpaktou out in front of her with a glare that would kill if only looks could, it did however turn out to be ill required as Ishida, Chad, Rukia, Renji and a very depressed looking Tatsuki stood out at the front door of Orihime's apartment. Matsumoto calmed down after seeing as many friendly faces, they would surely cheer Orihime up.

"Okay come in" Matsumoto calmly told them all as they quietly entered.

They all situated themselves on the two couches that were available for them to sit on, Renji sat at the far end of one where Rukia then sat next to him and leaned into him effectively leaving her seat with little space used up, the space was required as Chad then sat down taking up his seat and one of his arms resting at his side taking up some of Rukia's seat, and finally on the end Ishida sat down and patiently waited for Orihime to enter the room. Tatsuki simply stood while Matsumoto sat back down into her seat and waited along with the rest of the group for Orihime to join them so that they could all talk about what had happened.

Orihime lay in her bath and simply relaxed, she had just wanted nothing more than to do this ever since she had gotten up that morning, just lay down in a warm bath and relax. After what seemed like a long enough time and after she had cleaned herself thoroughly, meaning she was more or less red raw all over, she climbed out of her bath and looked in her bathroom mirror. Because of the heat of her bath the steam had fogged up her mirror, she reached out and rubbed away the steam from the mirror. As she done so where her reflection should have been in the mirror the hollow mask of Ichigo in stead appeared

"I will kill you, I hope you know that" it hissed as Orihime screamed for her life at the very sight.

Everyone in the living room had instantly ran to Orihime the second they heard the scream, Tatsuki wasted no time in destroying the locked door that kept her from a screaming Orihime who could be in danger. Matsumoto hung back and stopped the men from moving too far forward

"Sorry but wait until we ask for the help, Orihime-Chan may be naked" Matsumoto told all the men and although getting blushes from them all knew that they understood. Matsumoto then followed both Rukia and Tatsuki into the steam filled room, all alert and ready for any kind of attack from anywhere. However as the steam left the room all that they could see was Orihime lying on the floor in foetal position sobbing wildly, completely naked. All women looked amongst themselves as they tried to determine what had spooked Orihime so much, until their eyes fell on the broken mirror above her sink where there was red liquid oozing down into the sink from the leftover glass. They all looked back to Orihime and could see the deep cuts that laced across her knuckles, all winced as they wondered just what would provoke Orihime to punch her mirror and break in while in the process cutting herself.

"Rukia-Chan get me some towel, Tatsuki-Chan can you please lead the men back to the living room for now?" Matsumoto ordered quickly taking control of the situation she received two quick agreeing nods as both women hurried off to their assigned targets. Orihime was whimpering silently now that she was within Matsumoto's grip and she tried to hug into Matsumoto tightly as she felt her strength being sapped away from her. Matsumoto looked down at the weak girl and could already guess just what hap spooked her out as much as it had and it did not do her own mind to be thinking about that just now. Rukia soon returned to her with a few white towels with which to carry Orihime from the bathroom to her bedroom where she would undoubtedly need the sleep. Both women wrapped Orihime up tight to stop her shivering, just as Matsumoto was about to lift her up a heavy hand stopped her, she looked up to see the tallest teenager of the group looking down at her through the one eye she could see.

"What are you doing in here? Can't you tell Orihime is naked?" Matsumoto quickly hissed at him, Chad barely even flinched at the angry voice in stead picking up Orihime without any hassle

"I am not the kind of person to be so easily distracted by such things, my eyes have been re-directed from Orihime for a long time now" Chad explained.

"What do you mean re-directed?" Matsumoto questioned when she noticed that even though he cared for Orihime there was no deep affection that proved anything more than a friendship

"Simple, you don't appreciate what your friend loves" Chad answered feeling no guilt in saying what he had

"What?" Matsumoto asked aghast, Chad fully turned to her and looked directly into her eyes

"Ichigo may have been oblivious to her feelings for him, but he knew he had feelings for her, as did I and as his friend I did not even view Orihime as anything more than a person to develop a strong bond with and protect with my life for Ichigo's sake" Chad explained while allowing Matsumoto to take it all in

"So what you're saying is, is that Ichigo did actually love Orihime, no speculation anymore, no half guesses from his hollow, Ichigo definitely loved her?" Matsumoto did not want Orihime to get her hopes up only for them to be shattered again. Chad did not even look uncomfortable as he replied to her

"Of course, I mean who dies twice against one opponent for one they do not love?" Chad answered as serious as he possibly could. Matsumoto had to admit that he had her there, there was not many men she knew who would die twice for her in order to get what they wanted from her. She looked back up at the tall teen and smiled, he seemed like such an honourable man too, if only he were a bit older she would have been all over him.

Chad walked out of the bathroom and made his way to Orihime's room whilst she lay still in his arms not moving at all. Already inside were Tatsuki, Renji Rukia and Ishida, who all looked at Orihime covered in the towels fearfully. Matsumoto noticed the clothes that Orihime had prepared earlier in the morning, probably only an hour ago, she quickly moved them and let Chad put her back onto her bed. He was so gentle with her Matsumoto resisted the urge to whine at the show of gentleness from the giant, her restraints were wearing thin. Ishida came over beside his friend and looked down at Orihime with pained eyes

"What happened to her?" Renji asked not expecting much of a reply

"Well considering her body being red raw I would have said she had fainted from heat exhaustion, however with the injury on her hand and a broken mirror, I think that she may have believed herself to see something in that mirror" Ishida replied from the little bit of skin on her injured hand that he could see,

"How do you know it was all over her body?" Matsumoto asked him dangerously

"The heat in the room would have indicated that her whole body would have sustained that type of damage" Ishida replied casually, leaving Matsumoto somewhat surprised by the intelligence of the man.

"Oh" was all she could reply with as Ishida looked at the injured hand under close scrutiny, he gingerly touched at the hand and turned it over in his own hand to check the damage sustained. He reached up to his shirt pocket and pulled out a pair of tweezers still sterilised and in their packet.

"Chad can you collect me a small container of hot water please?" Ishida asked his frined receiving a curt yes and then turning back to Orihime. Matsumoto, Renji and Rukia simply stood and watched unsure about what was going to happen, Tatsuki was a bit more on the ball however.

"Do you always carry medical stuff with you everywhere?" Tatsuki asked her voice ripe with fear.

O"I always carry them just in case a situation just like this one may happen, I have ever since we returned from Hueco Mundo, call it a precautionary measure" Ishida answered his attention never straying away from Orihime's hand.

Chad returned into the room with a basin full of hot water and set it down on the table next to Orihime's bed and took a step back to give his friend the space he required to do his magic. Ishida quickly got to work extracting the glass from Orihime's hand without much hesitation, small trickle's of blood would ooze out from Orihime's hand each time he extracted one. With a wipe of a cloth however it was easily fixed and Ishida kept on working. Orihime was gasping in her sleep and as Chad pulled a towel away from her face, fearing she couldn't breath he saw her face surprisingly relaxed. Even after a few seconds her face curled up into a smile, even though her body was being resulted with pain, her features betrayed nothing of that pain.

"I wonder what she's thinking about?" Renji said as everyone nodded their heads in agreement, whatever it was it seemed pleasant.

"I don't know, after what she has been through, I cant think of much that she could be smiling about" Rukia pointed out making Matsumoto round on her

"What do you mean by that remark?" she questioned the noble un afraid of any trouble she may get in, Rukia stood her ground and looked up to the taller woman.

"I mean after so much negative feelings from Ichigo, she cant really be having too many good dreams now" Rukia answered her face falling in her sadness.

"Orihime is a strong girl, she is always optimistic, I don't want Ichigo to taint her memories with his negativity" Matsumoto said almost as if it was an order

"There isn't anything we can do though, she already managed to bypass the memory modification once before" Rukia explained before Matsumoto could even suggest that tactic.

"I would say it highly unfair on Orihime to go along with that tactic" Ishida's voice floated over from his position where he had finished extracting the glass from her hand.

"What do you mean?" Matsumoto challenged "He is bringing her so much pain, he cant be good for her"

"What he means is that to deny Orihime the chance to remember the one she loved is cruel, she would always go through life wondering who the man she loved was, that fate is too harsh for anyone to bear, especially one as special as Orihime" Chad spoke up from his standing point, everyone looked at him

"I don't deny it may lighten the load on Orihime's mind, but I think we should allow Orihime the choice after she wakes up whether or not she wishes to forget all about Ichigo and the pain" Chad finished having captured the attention of everybody from his significantly larger than normal speech.

"Let's do what he said" Matsumoto answered almost dreamily, everyone in the room turned to her and nodded as Chad walked out of the room without any incident, all of them following suit except for Renji who held back a bit.

"well, well, you folded for him very easily did you not Matsumoto-san?" Renji joked as he walked past Matsumoto, she turned on him and grabbed his hair pulling him back towards her and looked straight into his eyes.

"Tell anyone about that remark and I will kill you" Matsumoto told him dangerously

"Don't worry about it Matsumoto, your secret's safe with me, we gotta all look out for each other…" Renji began smiling at Matsumoto as she released his hair and he turned back to her "… I doubt Ichigo is finished with us yet, we gotta be prepared for anything next time we see him" Renji added gravely as he exited the room leaving Matsumoto with the still sleeping Orihime.

"Why did you have to fall in love with the most dangerous man of this time and age?" Matsumoto asked the sleeping from of Orihime before she clothed her in some new pyjamas and laid her gently back into her bed. Walking out she heard the most chilling thing she could have imagined Orihime saying after she had said that

"Don't go Ichigo-kun, I love you" she said still within her dream world.

* * *

**_Hueco Mundo_**

The little red haired girl had ran ahead of him and had finally collapsed and fell to the ground. Ichigo picked up his pace so that no hollow would try to take her as a free meal, reaching her he noticed that she was breathing steadily, and upon turning her over with his foot noticed her eyes closed also.

"I did say you looked tired Kyota, you should have just listened to me and slept while I walked" Ichigo talked to himself as both girls continued to sleep heavily, with a sigh Ichigo knelt down and snaked his arm around the small form of Kyota and rested her beside Sachi in his arms. Looking up again Ichigo could see no definite destination in the far off horizon. However he trusted in the voice and these little girls and followed the direction that Kyota had began to lead him.

Ichigo looked at the two bundles in his arms as they slept quietly in his arms, they were both completely out like lights. His previous thoughts about consuming the girls had been slowly leaving him since he had been following Kyota as she tried to prove her strength. He would not deny it, she was strong, but she was still only a child. For all her big talk, he had the size and the experience. As he looked at hem he felt a certain warmth he had not felt before and was stupefied by the feeling

_Ichigo, what you feel now is called empathy, you know how they feel to be all alone in an inhospitable land, you must protect them from all dangers_ the voice within his name told him coming to the surface suddenly.

'I still want to consume them, even if the feeling has been subsiding' Ichigo admitted to the voice.

_I know, remember I'm in your mind, I know what you're thinking._ the voice pointed out to him.

'then tell me this, why am I also plagued by the feeling that what I'm thinking is horrible' Ichigo asked the voice

_I think that for you to unravel that mystery, we must reach that oasis, only then can I give you my power and reveal to you what you want so much_ the voice reminded him

'fine I'll find that damn oasis you want me to find so badly' Ichigo huffed before looking at the road ahead.

In front of him nothing came to his vision that gave him any indication of where to go, that and his fatigue was beginning to eat at him, he had been walking for what felt like hours. He spied a lone tree out in the middle of the desert, perfect spot. It would allow them a safe place to rest as it would mean that he could see anything that would try to sneak up on him, and even if he couldn't see them, he would definitely hear them. He reached his resting place and tenderly lay both children on the ground lying right next to each other, at least they would together be able to give heat to the other. Ichigo looked around himself one last time to make sure there were no dangers that could impede them. Finding none he lay himself down next to both little girls, just a little away from them on his back. Closing his eyes he felt a chill pass over him as the night air crossed his body. He turned to both the girls and could see them not even moving from their position, feeling them to be overly vulnerable as far out in the open Ichigo moved onto his hands and knees. Lifting both bodies up he placed them under a boulder which jutted out from the sand a bit covering them from the cold winds which passed over the boulder and kept them out of view. Ichigo then lay onto his back again at the entrance of the hide-away and closed his eyes allowing sleep to take him.

* * *

"Excuse me sir" a voice called out into a white marble throne room towards a person sitting on said throne

"Yes?" the person answered back casually

"We detected a hollow presence outside of Las Noches sir, it was then accompanied by two Arrancar I think" the voice explained

"Arrancar you say?" the person asked instantly alert

"Yes sir, they along with the hollow then left Las Noches heading East" the voice answered

"I can understand bringing up the Arrancar, but this hollow, what interest is he to me?

"Well sir it's his spiritual pressure" the voice answered

"What level is he?" the voice quickly questioned

"About Adujchas level sir" he answered

"Then why bring up that useless information!" the person boomed

"My cameras picked something else up sir, there is a spiritual pressure that is hidden away within him, that his body does not have access to" the voice tried to reason

"Yes and what about it?" the person asked interested again

"Sir it rivals that of Aizen, maybe even double Aizen's power" the voice answered as a male Arrancar with golden short hair stepped forward out of the shadow over his computer console.

"More spiritual pressure than Aizen-Sama, well that can't be good" the person replied as he leaned forward revealing a masculine Arrancar with shoulder length silver hair.

"Yuron, dispatch some Arrancar, I want to meet this hollow who thinks he is stronger than Aizen, and by proxy, me, Volak Zoran, King of Las Noches!" Volak yelled as Yuron resumed his seat at his computer console and contacted the Arrancar required to bring in the hollow.

"By the way, those other Arrancar, who were they?" Volak asked curiously looking down on Yuron.

"I believe that they were the Solis sisters" Yuron answered

"Well, we could hit three crows with many more stones don't you think Yuron?" Volak asked laughing at his own joke, Yuron simply rolled his eyes at his lord's poor excuse for a pun on the well known phrase. Yuron turned back to his console and alerted the rest of the required Arrancar about there new assignment.

"Let's see just how tough you are" Volak said almost to himself, his red eyes gleaming in anticipation.

* * *

_Well here you guys go, I hope that you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it, which was a surprising amount. I wish to thank DarkJason for reviewing regularly on all of my chapters, gives me motivation to write more when I know people enjoy the story. I would also like to thank Zanbandia for my fist substantial review also, shows me just what you like and how you want it to pan out, nice to know my work is appreciated, well I hope that you two readers enjoy this chapter also along with everyone else who reads this, see you next chapter =] - Varrukh_


	6. Chapter 6 The Truth Through The Chase

Three figures lay at the bottom of a tree in the middle of a desert, how rather peculiar. As the Arrancar drew closer they had to take light of the fact that there was a dangerously heavy spiritual pressure floating around in the air. As they looked about themselves they slowly prepared themselves, they were not stupid, they knew what creatures of this level could do. Slowly they made their way closer as the figures came closer into view and became more decipherable to them. One of the Arrancar became too impatient and ran forward grabbing at one of the figures.

"No you fool!" shouted one of his brethren, he need not have bothered, his fellow Arrancar stood up again clutching at rocks as they fell to the ground through the gaps in his fingers and he looked up to his comrades confused.

"I don't get it, their spiritual pressure is so concentrated here, where are they?" he asked clearly mystified by the turn of events as he looked around himself to the other possible hiding places. There was only the gap under a rock that was clearly visible and the tree itself was completely solid.

"Sera, what do your senses tell you?" a large Arrancar asked, he was relatively tall, had short white hair and sapphire eyes, he had the standard lower clothing of the Espada and his top clothing consisted of a white overcoat that was open from top to bottom exposing his body to the outside world. His body was very lean built but with his numerous scars across both his abs and his pectorals, it could not be denied that he had seen his fair share of battle, his face was not a pristine masterpiece either as a large scar ran from the top of his right eye down across it and did not stop until it reached the chin.

A female Arrancar a few feet away with long wavy blonde hair turned to the voice of the Arrancar male. Her purple eyes contrasted with her hair greatly, her attire consisted of a long white dress that extended down to what looked like a needle stack at the ends of her dress, reaching up enough to cover her chest also she did not need any other clothing. Her arms lay bare towards the cold night air of Hueco Mundo, yet she thought nothing of it.

"Wait a second sir" she answered in a bored and exasperated voice, raising her head high she released all of her senses and felt at every little thing she possibly could. She could hear the breathing of the Arrancar around her as if she was the very mouth or nose it was exhaled through. She could see every object within miles as if she were standing within touching distance. She could smell every thing within a large mile radius as if she were running her nose along the very surface. She could even taste the very salt in the air from the sweat of all the Arrancar bodies around her, which in no small way, did disgust her.

"Damn you guys really do have to stop sweating so much, it burns when I loosen my senses and get bombarded with your salty taste" Sera complained while holding a hand across her mouth in an attempt to stem the taste of salt in her mouth.

Many of the Arrancar both male and female around her instantly took offence to this but none so much as a large Arrancar who came walking towards her with much malcontent in his body language and his eyes. Sera saw the great hulking mass speeding towards her and took a defensive stance with her right fist opened and facing towards him with her left mirroring the placement only opened in the opposite direction. She had lowered down and set her legs into a position that would allow her to jump if the situation required it, however if any of this perturbed or annoyed her, then the bored and relaxed face she wore gave nothing of it away.

The large Arrancar closed the distance and took a swipe for Sera, to which she easily dodged by ducking down low while at the same time grabbing both the huge hand and the forearm within her own hands and using very little if any at all strength to flip him onto his back. Completely unwilling to go down so easily the larger of the Arrancar got back onto his feet and kicked his leg out intent to bring the female to the ground where he would simply pummel her face into the very same ground. She casually jumped into the air and using his outstretched leg as a vault, pushed herself into the air and crashed her collected feet against the large Arrancar's chin. With a loud crack the battle had been finished and the male Arrancar fell to the ground holding onto his injured jaw.

Sera picked herself up from the ground and dusted herself off, that overgrown oaf had gotten sand on her dress. Hearing a whisper upon the wind she turned towards the white haired Arrancar who had turned to the scene of their bout.

"You are not supposed to create such a stir, now they will most definitely know where we are, we have lost the element of surprise. However we may have already lost that since they have already tried to trick us." the white haired Arrancar contemplated while rubbing his chin, while all other Arrancar simply awaited his decision to come.

From behind Sera a large hand came out to try and grab her smaller form, she felt the gust of air and did not even flinch. Before the large hand could even get close it had been stopped by a hand significantly smaller. There behind Sera stood the white haired Arrancar holding back the huge Arrancar with what looked like very little effort, in fact it was so little he was able to continue stroking his chin whilst holding onto the hand.

"Now now, I thought you were smarter than that oaf Yammy, Nyuka" the white haired Arrancar talked slowly as if he was thinking about every word he used.

"That bitch had it coming! Calling me a sweaty oaf" Nyuka tried to argue

"Yet she did not use the words 'sweaty oaf' did she?" the white haired Arrancar asked just as slowly again raising his left eyebrow with his question. Nyuka saw the silent threat within the Arrancar's words and backed down quickly, his anger burning to nothing in an instant.

"No, Zakabe-Sama" Nyuka answered slightly lowering his head at the same time

"Good, now Sera if you are done pestering our comrades here would you mind telling us where our quarry are, I would prefer we do not keep Volak-Sama waiting" Zakabe asked slowly making sure that Sera had understood him.

"Okay, from what I could pick up the two Solis sisters are on the move with a significantly weaker hollow of Adujchas level" Sera began

"Right we knew this much from Serul's research, what more can you give me?" Zakabe asked in his usual slow demeanour

"They are headed North, and are roughly about a few hours ahead of us" Sera answered finishing her examination of her surroundings.

Without any noticeable changes to his face Zakabe answered with a short "Very well, let us pursue them in that case" before he leapt from his standing point and vanished into his Sonido, making a show in complete contrast to his slower demeanour. The dirt and dust that was kicked up in his initial burst were not even able to affect the other Arrancar as they had already took off in pursuit of their leader, except from Sera. She had stayed behind for the briefest of moments to contemplate the amusing turn of events.

"So the new hollow with vast powers has found two renegade Arrancar, this is interesting, I cant wait to meet this hollow his hidden power is so tantalising" she mused to herself before she too blasted off in a flurry of dust and debris.

* * *

He knew that he had to get away from that area, there was something in his mind that simply told him that the area was dangerous and that he should move as soon as possible. He was content to simply ignore the voice until it began screeching in his ears the same way nails against a chalkboard would sound. With the persistence of the voice Ichigo had finally decided that he would move from where he was, he found that the two little girls were still sound asleep. He could not bring himself to wake them up, finding a wave of something washing against his chest whenever he looked at their sleeping faces, he gently picked them up and placed them in his arms. It was strange for him, if he had seen that sight over a year ago when his life had began, he would have probably consumed them without any hesitation. Yet now he found himself with the feeling of something washing against his insides whenever he looked at the girls and an overwhelming need to protect them.

You see Ichigo, you are not the monster that both the Soul Society and the Real World fear. What you feel are the starting points for both compassion and love.

'what do you mean? I thought hollows were not able to feel those kinds of things' Ichigo asked the voice within his head.

Not all hollows, if they have power enough and can keep their mind intact, then it is highly possible that they can have positive emotions also.

'what do both of these emotions mean?' Ichigo asked the voice curiously

I would have thought that you would have been able to remember these kinds of emotions, I guess that not everything will awaken dormant memories. Very well, compassion is much like whenever you look at the girls you want to do things in order to keep them both happy and safe correct? the voice asked rhetorically

'I think so' Ichigo answered honestly unsure if that was what he felt about them

I know your mind and your memories anyway, however I can see that love is an emotion you did devoid yourself of when you were a human, this you feel with what you believe your need or your duty to protect the two girls the voice explained

'I don't think I have a duty to protect these girls' Ichigo replied stopping in his tracks

Then why bring them? the voice answered casually

' I don't know they wouldn't be safe by themselves' he tried to answer

You have already verified that they are both far stronger than yourself anyway the voice answered him without much hesitation

' I don't know then are you happy it just felt right' Ichigo finally answered back losing his cool a bit

I know your mind it seems almost hardwired into your system, the need to protect those you love the voice told him almost as if it sounded happy

'then why ask me when, you already know so well and when I cant remember half of these memories that I am subject to?' Ichigo seethed to the voice

I wish to work alongside a master who has a more compassionate side, unlike that of my previous master who cared nothing for me, as such I want to try and help you understand that which you do not yet know the voice answered him honestly.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortable at the way the voice was able to stay so calm even after all of his hasty words and was always looking out for him, it was like a guardian angel of sorts. The voice did also try to help him whenever it could too so maybe it was not such a bad thing after all.

'Oh, sorry, guess I'm just aggravated because I had to wake up from screeching in my head' Ichigo told the voice

If I had not awoken you then those Arrancar would have found and killed you or taken you back to Las Noches the voice told him, annoying Ichigo immensely

'then it was you who woke me up!' he complained to his mind

Would you prefer to be taken to that palace where your very existence could be extinguished easily? the voice asked cynically

'well, no' Ichigo answered sheepishly

that's what I thought, now there are many that follow you, I count at least ten Arrancar and they are hot on your trail the voice explained to him as he started to jog slowly and pick up the pace gradually.

'couldn't I just easily fight and beat them?' Ichigo asked a little bit of his usual bloodthirsty nature coming through

No those Arrancar could tear you apart, and I cannot give you any of my power, because if I do in your current state then I may very well destroy you the voice told him slowly.

'then what do you suggest?' Ichigo asked losing patience

Get to that oasis as soon as you possibly can, only then will you have anywhere near enough strength to defeat some of the Arrancar the voice answered without any wavering in it's voice.

With that Ichigo came back to the present and focused entirely on moving as fast as he could in order to reach this so called oasis. Being careful not to disturb the small bundles within his arms he began to move even quicker, yet as he moved he could feel something ominously evil behind him and chancing a glance behind him he seen the line of ten white clad human sized warriors vanishing and reappearing in short bursts towards him. He had to get away from them fast or else taste the ground they walked on because their combined spiritual pressure was one of sheer monstrosity.

* * *

_**Human World**_

Matsumoto had not left her vigil of Orihime for hours, all of the group had agreed to watch over Orihime at converging intervals allowing her to be under constant view and they could make sure that she was indeed safe. Tatsuki and Ishida had already done their two hours each and after them had been Matsumoto, yet after five hours she still sat at the side or Orihime's bed. Her eyes barely even still open and her fears for Orihime were high, the poor soul had been through a heavily traumatic period of time. She looked to Orihime's hand and could see the stitches Ishida had been forced to tie across her knuckles in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. To see such a beautiful body under even the slightest amount of damage was horrible, but to see the twisted faces she pulled as she slept grabbed at the heart of Matsumoto.

She wished that she could go into Orihime's mind and comfort her there, able to tell her that things would be just fine and that her friends would always be there for her, but as she thought about it, part of that statement would be a complete lie. One of her closest friends would no longer e there for her, he had become a monster that none of them ever really needed to see nor meet. Matsumoto knew she could not hate Ichigo for what he had become, talking to both Orihime and Rukia and finding out about his inner hollow and his fights with it, Matsumoto became more sympathetic towards the young man. It would be almost inevitable to turn into a hollow if he had an inner hollow who was finally allowed the release it wanted.

The sound of the door behind her opening alerted her and she instantly grabbed the hilt of her Zanpaktou and brought the blade of Heineko against the throat of someone far taller than herself. Looking up she could see the face of the young, but large man. He was entering with some towels and some water, he did not even seem to be startled as Matsumoto held her Zanpaktou to his throat. Matsumoto quickly lowered her Zanpaktou and re-sheathed it, turning back to Orihime she felt the pure muscle of the large man cause a swoosh of air as he simply passed her and took her seat next to Orihime. He set the bowl of water down on Orihime's bedside table, being as quiet as he possibly could while doing so.

He took one of the towels and soaked it within the warm water in the bowl, twisting it to take some of the moisture out he lightly dabbed it across Orihime's brow as he took away the small amount of perspiration that had appeared there. Matsumoto looked on confused as to what the large man was doing, and was surprised that such a large man could even be quite as gentle as he was being, he was almost the epitome of a gentle giant. With an other towel he repeated the process but this time allowed the towel to lay folded a few time, across the top of her head. Her breathing became noticeably more relaxed as this method was applied and it took Matsumoto's curiosity to the next level.

"What did you do?" she asked him quietly, he turned around to her almost as if he did not hear her, but as he looked directly into her eyes she felt as if he had seen all there was to know about her.

"I simply applied warmth to her head" Chad answered back turning back round to Orihime as he placed the dirty towel in the water again and picked up the bowl.

"Where are you going?" Matsumoto quickly asked afraid to lose the gentle giant as company.

"You wish to watch over her more? I shall not impede upon that, just tell me when you are ready to finish up and I shall take over my watch" Chad told her softly as he approached her on his way to the door.

"Wait! Ehm… do you think I could sleep in here too? I don't want to leave Orihime and I really want to have some sleep, do you think I can sleep in here and you could watch over both of us?" Matsumoto asked instantly fighting her inner mind _That's just great Rangiku, look almost as if you're a desperate child afraid of the dark, that will get him to notice you._

"Very well, seeing as you are so close to Orihime and I have my personal duty to protect her, I guess that means as one of her closest friends that would include you too" Chad reasoned completely losing the desperate way in which Matsumoto had acted.

"Thank you Sado-San" Matsumoto answered softly, while in her mind what was really being said was _Thank the soul king he never picked up on my desperation earlier, wait that means he is still clueless doesn't it?_ Matsumoto concluded her inner fight with a less than positive answer that she had hoped for, yet she already partly knew that due to the gaps with both their age and their lives in general would not allow them to be one. She would just have to get over it, Chad left the room and let Matsumoto climbed into the spare bed within Orihime's room which lay right across from the bottom of Orihime's bed almost as if it were symmetry in her room.

Closing her eyes slowly she was able to stay awake long enough only to see the gentle giant re-enter the room quietly and notice that both women appeared to be sleeping. With a slight laugh to himself he sat down on the chair that was right next to Orihime, he crossed his large arms and stared intently at Orihime. He did not take his watch lightly and he would make sure that Orihime was well in every sense of the word. When Orihime smiled slightly in her sleep Chad himself also smiled

"You're dreaming about Ichigo aren't you? The good times" Chad talked softly to her as Matsumoto silently watched on through half closed eyes at the tender moment from the large man.

"I do not lie to you when I say that it hurts me also to see Ichigo this way, we were as brothers once, always looking out for each other because of my refusal to fight for myself. Now with him gone I guess I must change entirely from my old ways, no-one will come to help me as Ichigo did and to be honest I do not want them to. Ichigo was the only person to me who could fit that role, and I believe you feel the same way, you loved him and only feel that Ichigo can fill that space within your heart don't you?" Chad had by now set both of his forearms resting against his thighs and looked more intensely at Orihime, then he done something that anyone who was with him would have been blown back to see, in front of Orihime's sleeping form he revealed to her what no-one had ever seen before, his other eye. He slid his hand through his hair almost doing the same motion as Aizen had as he left Soul Society and slicked his hair back to reveal both of his brown eyes. Matsumoto was mesmerised by the sight that was before her, he was drop dead gorgeous when he had his hair back, any girl would be chasing after him if they had seen him like that. On that note she made sure that he would never be seen by any other woman except maybe Orihime like that, otherwise she would have to battle them to the death.

"I reveal to you my true face in light of the current situation, even though you cannot see it, I pledge that as a sign of my devotion to protecting you my face will not be covered by my hair, that way you will be able to know always through my facial language exactly what I am thinking" Chad finished, Matsumoto really didn't know what he meant by that speech but understood the never letting his hair down again and felt her heart deflate in dread, she was going to be in many fights.

* * *

Chad looked around the room for what really must have been the thousandth time, checking that both Orihime and Matsumoto were sound asleep and safe. He brought his hand up towards his head only to realise he could see it completely clearly now, he going to have to get used to this more clear eyesight. Looking to his watch he noticed that now was around about his time for his shift to end, readying himself to leave he felt spiritual pressure close to him and gathered his own instinctively. Rising from his chair quickly he was met with three figures, he coated both of his arms in their respective armour and prepared himself to fight to the bitter end for the two women.

All of the figures came through the doorway and out of the shadows to reveal themselves to the battle ready teen. There stood Yoruichi Shiohin, Urahara Kisuke and Isshin Kurosaki all with worried expressions etched across their faces, more so on Yoruichi's face. The other two men did still however have that same worry etched into their faces, they were all wearing their usual clothes, even Isshin was wearing his doctor's uniform. Chad calmed down at the sight of the three friendly faces and allowed his arms to revert to their normal forms, after finally doing this the three people who had just walked into the room could finally relax also. They didn't want to test those powers against themselves anytime soon.

"How is she?" Yoruichi asked first looking directly at Orihime

"She looks fine, she burst her knuckles open earlier but Ishida patched that up" Chad answered her

"What happened?" Urahara asked reaching up to tip his hat on his head and looking down at the poor girl in front of him, she really did look pale.

"She was having a bath, we were all sitting through in the dining room when we heard her screaming, the women burst in and found her out cold on the floor, her mirror was broken and some of the glass was embedded in her knuckles, she has been sleeping ever since" Chad explained turning back to Orihime as he spoke.

"She lashed out at her mirror? Why would she do that?" Yoruichi questioned all present

"That may depend on what she may have seen in the mirror" Urahara answered for her looking down again to the pale form of Orihime

"It must have been something utterly horrifying to make one so sweet and innocent as Inoue-san punch the mirror in an attempt to get rid of the image" Isshin added in just as everyone came to the same conclusion.

"It was Ichigo" came a soft voice on the opposite side of the room, Isshin instantly tensed at the mention of his deceased son and twisted around in his fury to look at the one who dared say such a thing, his burning eyes fell on the woman he had saved a year ago, Matsumoto.

Urahara and Yoruichi knew the danger bells whenever they went off around Isshin and right now they were being ringed with a deafening volume to them. Both stepped to each side of him grabbing an arm, he was a father and he did not take too kindly to those who would paint his son in the negative light. His long time friends held him in place from causing any problems, or for that matter a mess and as such he had to resort to verbally transmitting his point.

"What the hell did you say!" Isshin roared to the blonde haired woman who retracted backwards at the harsh tone of the man.

"It was Ichigo who caused her to do that" she re-iterated calmly

"How dare you say such things about my son! He should be living safe in Rukognai for all that he has done for you Shinigami! And you go and try to tell me he is the cause for Orihime's ailment?" Isshin roared at the woman. Even his friends were scared now, they had never seen Isshin in an uproar like this, he had always been seen as the quiet and effectively cool type. This outburst was completely unlike him.

"His sisters have only been able to get through his death in the knowledge that he was living in Soul Society and was finally at peace after such hard difficulties he had been through" Isshin told her his voice dying down slightly as tears began to run down his cheeks.

"They have never been the same ever since he died, Karin has become even more reclusive than she had been before and Yuzu has lost the love that she used to have for everyone, she is a husk of what she once was" Isshin continued his outpour of hateful information to all present

"And me, how can I feel? I've lost both my wife and now my eldest son! My daughters don't blame me for it but I know that they should, I was unable to help my son and because of that he is dead" Isshin finally bowed his head as everyone believed him finished, he fell to the ground in a bowing position.

"The only solace that we can take is that he is safe within Soul Society and living a happy peaceful life" Isshin called from his position.

Both Urahara and Yoruichi looked at each other awkwardly as they watched the inner destruction of their friend, they had no idea that it had ever affected him anything like this, he had never seemed like it before. They had concealed the truth from him because they knew how it would affect both him and his twin daughters, to know that their loveable brother was now a heartless creature seemed like a soft lie to tell them.

"Kurosaki-kun"

Everyone in the room turned to the sleeping form of Orihime who had ever so sweetly called out the name, Isshin jumped to his feet and rushed over to her side swiftly moving past Chad without any problems. He stopped at her bedside and noticed how her face was twisted in confusion and fear.

"Kurosaki-kun, what happened to you?" she whispered loudly as her eyes stayed tightly shut

Isshin turned to everyone behind him with a questioning look on his face.

"What does she mean?" he asked dangerously which caused no less than every face but Chad's to fall

"You do not know?" Chad asked without any hint of malice within his voice, Isshin turned to the large teen with an angry glint in his eyes.

"What don't I know?" Isshin asked his voice echoing the feeling seen in his eyes

"When Ichigo fought Aizen, I think something happened that caused him to become a hollow" Chad answered Isshin without any hint of fear or hesitation.

Isshin was lost. Lost was probably barely even the term now, he was gone from his mind almost. He had been lied to, by those he trusted with his heart and soul, he had been lied to about his son. They had told him simply that he had died and that the chances of him living in the Rukognai would be good. Now he finds out that they had lied to him about such a thing. The room grew dark and heavy as Isshin turned around to his two friends, his eyes seemed to be hollow and devoid of anything.

"Tell me that's not true, tell me that what you told me was the truth" Isshin almost pleaded to both of the people, both of them lifted their faces up only to look at each other. Urahara was the one to decide to take the bullet for this one, he would save Yoruichi the pain of this one.

"I was present when it happened, Kurosaki-san" Urahara told him quietly, he was quickly pressed against the wall behind him as the bulk of Isshin had bulldozed him into said position.

"Then why did you lie to me about such things?" Isshin yelled at his face, spitting slightly.

"To save you from the truth, he has become a hollow and has become one with the Hogyoku, he has forgotten all but Inoue-san, if you tried to look for him he would surely kill you without hesitation" Urahara explained as Isshin slowly let go of the clothes he had grabbed and let Urahara lower to his feet again.

"Are you saying all traces of my son are gone?" Isshin asked his voice seeming almost hollow

"I am afraid so Isshin, everything but his memories of Inoue-san seem to be gone" Urahara added

"But you said that she punched the mirror because of Ichigo, if he remembered her then why would she be so scared of him?" Isshin asked starting to completely lose the line of thought required

"He remembers her name only, she herself however he does remember, he just… believes her to be his nemesis and has promised that he will kill her" Urahara finished lowering his head so that his hat covered his entire face.

"My son has become a monster" Isshin pointed out to no-one in particular

"Actually, he has not" Urahara countered Isshin, this cause Isshin's head to rise up and look at Urahara's face.

"What do you mean?" Isshin asked his voice still hollow

"He remembers Inoue-san, I believe that with that knowledge he has not been completely lost to his hollow side yet, I believe that he can be saved even" Urahara told him confidently

"I hope that you are right, I would love to be able to tell my daughters that their brother is in fact alive, maybe then they can go back to their old ways" Isshin answered turning towards the window fromi the room, he was suddenly sick of everyone in the room save maybe for Orihime.

"Please tell Inoue-san that I wish to see her when she is ready" Isshin talked to no-one in particular, facing directly at the window.

"Isshin I am sorry I kept this from you" Urahara tried to explain as he stepped forwards towards Isshin.

"For your sake, you had better hope that keeping such a secret from me was worth it" Isshin told his old friend dangerously as he took off out of the room.

* * *

He had not gotten far before he could feel a familiar spiritual pressure chasing him, he knew he couldn't outrun the person and so stopped on top of a building's roof.

"He was only trying to preserve your feelings" came the soft voice from behind him, he turned around to maybe the only one who could talk to him in this situation, Yoruichi.

"In doing so he has caused me even more pain than if he had told me at the beginning" Isshin argued as he turned to leave, he did not even wish to talk to her right now.

"Now hang on, he was only trying to help you, how can you be so angry when all he was doing was trying to look out for you?" Yoruichi asked him clearly annoyed by Isshin's current unforgiving attitude.

"Have you ever had to tell two little girls that they are never going to see their mommy again? Have you ever had to tell those same two girls that their protector big brother, who has been there for them for so long, is now dad and their chances of seeing him are slim too, but it's ok because he is in 'heaven'?" Isshin asked her his anger almost dripping from his form, his eyes looked at Yoruichi with a hatred that he had never shown anyone before.

"I can understand what Urahara had done perfectly, but for once in his life he assessed the situation incorrectly, my daughters and I suffer because of his mistake, that is not something easily forgivable" Isshin told her looking directly at her, Yoruichi having been raised as a noble had been taught to never show her true emotions to anyone, but this was her friend and he was a shattered man. She cringed at his look that seemed to penetrate to the deepest parts of her soul.

"Isshin, we were only trying to help you, we didn't realise that anything like this might happen" Yoruichi basically whispered

"You don't know me at all do you?" Isshin asked her with his hatred filled eyes still boring into her

"After the years we spent together, you don't understand me, this was exactly why I left the Shinigami. Masaki gave me a life of happiness and she knew me, she did not pretend to care about me, she loved me and showed me that there was someone out there that could know me for who I am, you people only ever pretended that you knew or cared about me" Isshin told her without even once blinking, his hatred and words were like daggers inflicting wounds to Yoruichi.

"We did know you, we were all friends, we all looked out for each other" Yoruichi tried to argue but she knew that once she had said that she was in trouble.

"You did not, you left me over a century ago, when first I came to this world away from the Shinigami I was overjoyed to see you guys, you were all doing so well, in the back of my mind though I could not deny the fact that, you had all left me without even a word of goodbye. How then can you know me? How can you know exactly what both my wife and my son meant to me? And for that matter my daughters?" Isshin was verbally destroying Yoruichi and he could see it in her face, with a heavy sigh he turned around.

"Go, watch over Orihime until she gets better, and accompany her when she comes to see me, I doubt there will be anything less than suspicion if an older man like me wants to see a young woman alone" Isshin added before he blasted off into Shunpo without any hesitation.

Yoruichi was forced to return to the room with a less than happy appearance etched across her face, he was right, they really didn't know him at all, they should have known better than to have lied to him. He was their friend and they betrayed his trust yet again. She returned to the room to find everyone very much still in the same places that they had been, however with some changes, there were Ishida, Tatsuki, Renji and Rukia in the room also now. Once Yoruichi returned she was met by a questioning look from Urahara.

"He would not listen to me, he feels betrayed by us" Yoruichi answered his silent question

"I feared as much, I guess I got this one wrong Yoruichi-san" Urahara admitted before lifting his hat from his head and in a most un-Urahara like way threw it out of the door in anger. To say everyone was surprised may be incorrect to assume, none but maybe Yoruichi had seen Urahara angry and even she seemed slightly surprised.

"What happened?" Renji asked for everyone who was new on the scene.

"In order to save some of Isshin's feelings we lied to him about Ichigo, we told him that he had died and went to Soul Society" Yoruichi answered as at that moment Urahara did not seem like one to talk as he breathed in heavily to calm himself down.

"Why would you do that?" Rukia asked this time "I mean what if he achieved Arrancar status and returned here? wouldn't that cause even more pain for him?" she asked unsure if she was right in her train of thought.

"We thought about him and his daughters, to have them believe that Ichigo was living peacefully seemed like the best thing we could offer them than tell them that he was suffering the life of a hollow" Yoruichi explained trying to make her point seem valid.

"I must say though it may have had an adverse effect" Ishida voiced from his standing point next to both Renji and Chad "I pass both of the Kurosaki twins on my way home from school and usually they will stop me and talk to me as they know me from Ichigo, they no loner do that, whenever I pass them both they look almost as if life has nothing to offer them" Ishida finished revealing the true extent of the lie to the Kurosaki's.

"We only tried to think about giving them an alternative where their brother did not die in vain, we did not know that they would still be so badly affected" Yoruichi tried to reason

"Even so, those girls were close to their brother, losing him at all was a heavy blow for them" Chad told her through his knowledge of Ichigo's sisters through Ichigo himself.

Everyone was left in an uncomfortable silence after that, the ones that had effectively lost everything were still losing everything to this moment. They had lost a mother and now they had lost a brother too, that was two lives extinguished from existence, what was even worse was that Ichigo had died almost in vain, his trump card had not been enough to subdue Aizen by himself. When he had returned and consumed Aizen he had effectively done as he had set out to do but he was a monster, the could not tell the family that all of Ichigo's work had been in vain and that he had to become a monster to save the two worlds.

* * *

Rukia's cell phone beeped in her pocket, looking at it she could see numerous hollows coming into the area. Readying her soul pill she was stopped when Urahara lifted his hand and grabbed hers within his own.

"If you please Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-san is angry and since we don't know what he is like angry, I don't want to risk anyone getting in his way" Urahara told her as his face came into her view, she would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it but this was something that Urahara was not sure of at all. Rukia put her pill back into her pocket as she felt the rise in spiritual pressure far off in the distance.

"This is Ichigo's dad's power?" Rukia asked absolutely mystified by the power of it

"Yes, he was a former captain in the Gotie thirteen you know" Urahara answered with the traces of a smile creeping onto his face again.

"You never heard the legend of Captain Kurosaki?" Yoruichi asked mainly the Shinigami present in the room, however all of them had to shake their heads.

"Well I guess that Soul Society banned that one then, figure, ever since he left I'll bet a lot of his exploits will be erased from the library or just unobtainable" Urahara stated as he looked amongst them.

"What are you talking about?" Renji asked his left eyebrow raised in his confused state.

"Captain Kurosaki done many great exploits in his time as captain of the tenth division" at this piece of information Matsumoto raised her head questioningly, in all her time in the tenth squad she had never known the previous captain before her current one had taken over, before that the knowledge of the previous captain was unattainable.

"Yes, I guessed that you would not remember him, he had left that placement at least twenty years ago, as such that must be when all of the information on him was wiped" Urahara explained to the confused Matsumoto who simply stood still confused.

"His exploits were numerous and dangerous" at the mention of the word dangerous the howls of the hollows out in the Karakura town could be heard as they were destroyed.

"He was in many situations where it seemed that overpowering odds against even more powerful foes were almost likely to be his end" Urahara told them as the spiritual pressure they all felt was rising sill as the hollows combined spiritual pressure plummeted.

"His greatest exploit however, was when myself and Yoruichi were in Soul Society, he fought at least two Vasto Lorde by himself and, although he did not kill them, what you must remember is that just one is hard enough for a captain to take on alone and he took on two himself" Everyone's eyes widened at the revelation of Isshin's strength, he could hold his own against two Vasto Lorde's?

"I wont deny that he was beat up to a pulp and spent enough time in the medical barracks to get on first name terms with captain Unohana, but he had managed to do what seemed like the impossible and repelled them back to Hueco Mundo, he recied many recommendations and was even offered a promotion to squad zero, he refused however" Urahara looked to everyone around him and could see the confused expressions aplenty.

"For you who know not too much about all I have said, basically Kurosaki-san's dad was a strong man, and the leader of a squad, he was strong enough to fight off two beings stronger than him and for surviving and repelling them he was invited to join a group of some of the most powerful Shinigami ever" Urahara explained basically to Tatsuki, Ishida and Chad as they all finally came to realised much more about Ichigo's lineage.

"Wait! That doesn't make sense, if he was so powerful, then why did he pass out when his son needed him so much?" Tatsuki asked remembering when he had saved the same blonde haired woman in the same woman as them and had collapsed into sleep.

"He has only recently been able to tap into his Shinigami powers again, I believe that he was only at around about 30% of his power when he had shown up before you in the real Karakura town" Urahara explained

"Then that should have been plenty in order to save that woman and help Ichigo!" Tatsuki shouted pointing at Matsumoto as she talked about her.

"He was not at 30% then, he was barely at 1% then, that is why he had collapsed" Urahara explained beginning to allow a smile to stretch thinking about the ways of his friend, even when he was out of steam he would push himself.

"Then why did he save me then?" Matsumoto asked now hating being the subject of attention

"I don't believe that he could so easily just sat and watched as a member of his previous division was hurt, he treated them all as family you know?" Urahara told her with a slight smile.

"Then why was he erased from the Library if he was in such high regard?" Matsumoto questioned, slightly aggravated that one who sounded like a perfect captain was erased from memory.

"He defied Soul Society, they cant have that, even if it is from one of their very own captains" Urahara answered slowly "Why do you think none of the captains talk about myself or Yoruichi or Jurel or Feryua?" Urahara took note of the confused looks on everyone's faces even Yoruichi's "Exactly" he finished.

Eventually the spiritual pressure died down as the final hollow fell from the sky and found it's way either to Hell or Soul Society.

"Wow… wish I could have seen him fighting" Renji spoke out as he looked around the room.

"Oh I don't doubt we shall all see it soon enough" Urahara told him moving into the hallway to retrieve his earlier discarded hat.

"What do you mean?" Renji asked a little bit of him brightening up at the prospect of seeing such an amazing man fight.

"Well I doubt that young Kurosaki-san is finished with us yet, and as such I think that the next time he comes that his father will confront him" Urahara told them with his face becoming solemn again.

Orihime came back to attention as she began to squirm in her sleep, her face tightened into a scared face as her arms began to flail wildly at her side knocking over a cup of tea on her bedside table that had once belonged to Chad. Yoruichi reacted immediately moving across to the young woman and grabbing her into an embrace, Orihime began to relax soon after Yoruichi had began hugging her, eventually bringing her own arms around Yoruichi's waist and hugging her tightly as if she never wanted to let go. That was when the sobbing began, Yoruichi could feel her clothes beginning to dampen as the tears soaked into her clothing, she was however unperturbed as it was clear this girl needed someone to talk to and even if she was asleep, maybe all she needed right now was a hug?

To all surrounding them this seemed nothing out of the ordinary, besides the fact that Yoruichi had taken the initiative and tried to soothe the girl in stead or Matsumoto, but however everyone decided that for Orihime's own good, too many people in the same room as them may not be what was needed right now. All filed out quietly, even though it seemed pointless since Orihime had not woken when Isshin had basically been shouting his head off, they still thought it the right thing to do. The only ones left afterwards were Matsumoto, Chad, Urahara and Yoruichi.

"What are we going to do?" Yoruichi asked almost desperately

"I don't know, I honestly don't know" was all Urahara could answer with.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo**_

Time was rapidly running out for him and the two girls and he knew it all too well. They were running for their very lives now, the two girls had recently awoken and were able to run alongside him, well to be more exact the were vanishing and reappearing up in front of him beating him in the direction they were going. He did not have time to be annoyed at that, all that mattered was following them and knowing that they were both safe.

He continued to run, narrowly avoiding a projectile that came cascading to his right, tearing through the skin on his right shoulder he grunted in pain but kept on running forwards. His breaths were beginning to burn at his throat as he continued onwards, the two girls were still ahead and didn't look to be in any bad shape. After waking up in fact they were mystified to why they were being carried and why they were moving so fast. However once looking up and seeing the familiar mask of their saviour they had both quickly jumped out of his arms in order to allow him to run freely.

It did not matter, without their weight he could run a bit more freely yes but he was still far slower than either of them and for that matter the ones that chased them also. They knew it and so did he, it was almost as if they were playing with him by hanging back as much as they were. He felt a burst of pain erupting from his right shoulder blade, looking over his shoulder he could see the blade that stuck out from his skin. It eventually disappeared into spirit particles and returned to one in the group who had slowed down to just a slow walk.

Ichigo turned back to the direction he had been running and saw the two girls at a complete standstill, his breathing becoming a real burden to him now he continued onwards. Both Sachi and Kyota looked to him with a smile on their faces, this confused Ichigo and he almost felt stupid, what if he was caught in a double-cross? However both of the girls continued onwards with the slightest of steps, as if there was no longer any danger, they even went as far as to have a skip in their step.

Ichigo was surprised and as such chased after them as quickly as he could, pulling at the air itself if only to get him moving faster. There was shift in the movement from behind him also, they had kicked themselves into overdrive in order to catch him. He felt the piercing pain as more than one projectile was forced through the skin on his back again and had to grunt in pain again, the sheer force of the impacts sent him to the ground. He looked up to find that the two girls had left him and were still walking peacefully just up ahead, he felt something in his chest loosen and he relaxed slightly.

_Get up Ichigo! We are not far away_ came the agitated voice in his mind

'But I don't see anything yet' Ichigo answered the voice slightly disappointed

_You cannot see it because it can only be viewed by those who have been within it's dome_ the voice told him.

He dragged his body to it's feet and started to trudge in the direction of the two girls, both of which had turned back around towards him. They motioned towards him with their hands for him to come towards them, their smiles still present on their faces. Ichigo pushed himself as hard as he could in order to reach them, his footsteps were heavy as his power was rapidly leaving him. As he put down his foot his whole body just physically collapsed upon itself, causing him to fall to his knees barely a few feet away from both Sachi and Kyota who looked at him with fear in their eyes.

He felt the gust of air as bodies appeared behind him and felt the cold tip of nine different weapons pointed towards the back of his neck. He knew that this was it, no way could he take on nine beings of this power level, especially when they had already managed to weaken him so much. His breath left him as he looked to the two girls, the look he saw with them was of fear, not for themselves but for him. He was completely taken aback by that show of emotion, in all of his times confronted with beings that had faces that could show emotion, sure he had seen fear but it had always been directed at him. Right now though those two were afraid of him being killed, not afraid of him.

As Ichigo took a few moments to understand the turn of events a tenth person walked in front of him and grabbed onto the tuft of the mane that lay limply over his shoulder and made Ichigo look up into his face. The hair was short and white, his eyes were sapphire and the scar that cut across his right eye made him seem all the more intimidating, his face did not ever seem to change but Ichigo could see the joy burning within the eyes of the being.

"Looks like you did not quite make it" Zakabe told him his face barely inches away from Ichigo's own.

Ichigo's head lowered as he had to accept that he was indeed beat, the others were strong but he could just tell that this one commanded respect and that he got it. He was hefted into the air by the man and looked directly into his eyes, they reflected his image almost perfectly. The being threw Ichigo off to his left and turned back to him.

"He is weak, nothing to cause a worry for Volak-Sama" Zakabe told the group that surrounded him as he began to walk away.

"What? Were just going to leave after chasing them this far?" Nyuka complained.

"Maybe we should take the girls to make sure that the mission was not in vain?" Sera tried to reason moving past Zakabe towards the two girls. She would not deny that she was mildly disappointed in the strength of the hollow, it was made out to be so much more than it was.

"Very well, Sera, Byuku retrieve the girls, our master wishes to see them" Zakabe told both women as they then went on to retrieve the girls from their standing points. They swooped down and without any hesitation scooped the girls into their arms and were off again.

"Ichi-Nii, save us!" were the cries that came from both of the girls as they were carried away.

"This one will be dead soon, his spiritual pressure has all but left him, and he will be eaten by an other hollow anyway" Nyuka said before turning away and leaving swiftly alongside most of the other Arrancar.

"You were indeed a disappointment" Zakabe said to Ichigo before he himself turned and began to leave.

_Wrong thing to say Arrancar, you should have watched where you threw my master Hahanah! _the voice took actual sound as it came rolling out of Ichigo's mouth, that genderless voice that's seemes to simply emanate in power itself. Zakabe watched as all around him trees and shrubbery were revealed and a small lake in the centre came into view. Turning back to Ichigo he could see the white light that eventually concealed him from view. One thing was for sure, he felt the power growing immensely.

* * *

_Well thank you for reading up until now if you have been I hope that you will enjoy this chapter as much as you have the previous ones. _

_Dark Jason - thank you for being a steady reviewer and I hope that you enjoy this chapter like the rest =]_

_Zanbandia - I am sorry if you think this is yet an other slow chapter but I do wish to build up some things in order to make my story all the more exciting =]_

_grey earth - thank you for your reviews also I hope this chapter goes partly the way to explaining about Ichigo's family and I hope you enjoy=]_

_Anyway as always you guys read and review if you please thank you very much - Varrukh _


	7. Chapter 7 Memories

Sachi… Kyota

Sachi….Kyota

Sachi!…Kyota!

SACHI! KYOTA! the names screamed around in his head as if they were bells physically ringing within his mind. He could see their faces full of fear as they were lifted from the ground by those two females, his mind had screamed out in fury as that image took hold of him. He was unable to control himself he felt new emotions flooding into his body as he looked upon the panic stricken faces of those girls, there was an unexplainable desire to protect those girls hardwired into his mind now and he was not going to ignore it.

The Arrancar looked at him after he had thrown Ichigo off in the direction he had, he found himself to be within a dome of equatorial jungle. Tree's let off stream into the air that then all seemed to form over the small lake in the centre of the dome. It's glittering surface could have been mistaken for being liquid crystal as the sheer beauty of it would almost accept nothing else. Zakabe had to look around in mild fascination for a moment or two, he had never seen anything quite like this before and had never heard of anything like this in Hueco Mundo.

Then the hollow was consumed by white energy as it cascaded around his form, cutting at the very foliage that surrounded them. Zakabe could even see the ripples of the small crystalline lake cascading away from the display of raw power that he was being shown. The light being shone off from the display was almost so great that Zakabe had to physically shield his eyes from its bite. While his vision was impaired by his very own arms he noticed the small cuts that were slowly appearing across his arms and could feel the crushing weight as a powerful spiritual pressure pushed down on him with no mercy at all.

Ichigo's mind was a complete mess. To say that might be an understatement, his memories flooded into his mind without any mercy of their own, flashing images of fights between different Shinigami, against other Arrancar and their Espada. The faces of those whom he had long since forgotten once he had fallen to his defeat over a year ago, his family, his friends, his allies and Orihime. The memories infiltrated their way into his mind and he had to hold at his head in order to try and stem the unbelievable amount of pain that his head was being subjected to. As he screamed out in pain he could feel as his hollow mask began to slowly disappear, he was scared for his life now, if a hollow completely lost their mask then they died. It was as simple as that.

_Calm my precious, I would not allow you to die such a tragic death_ the voice soothed over in his head as the pain from the memories kept at their hurtful destruction. Ichigo could not respond, the pain eating away at his mind was all too real and all too excruciating.

'Sachi…..Kyota, we have to… ahhh….. Save… them' Ichigo grunted the best he could considering the amount of pain he was enduring.

_Fear not my master, I shall grant you power enough to easily beat these Arrancar and retrieve your friends _the voice answered him trying to soothe him from his pain again, this time to more effect as the memories began to subside and find their places within his mind.

'They are not my friends' Ichigo answered back to his mind in an almost exhausted tone.

_That is a tad harsh is it not? I mean I know your mind and heart but, to say such things about those two little girls is harsh_ the voice answered him not in the slightest bit surprised.

'They are not my friends, after the way I feel about them I am far more protective than any friend would be, I will destroy anyone who would dare touch them, I am their guardian, their protector' Ichigo answered with his actual body's face lifting up again within the raging whirlwind of spiritual pressure.

"I call myself their brother! And vow to protect them from all dangers that present themselves!" Ichigo physically yelled out into the whirlwind of spiritual pressure.

_I knew I had been right in granting you my power, well some of it_ the voice mused to itself not voicing such an opinion out loud.

* * *

With Ichigo's proclamation the whirlwind of spiritual pressure completely disappeared revealing Ichigo to the absolutely astonished eyes of Zakabe. It was not possible, how could it be? He was nothing but a mere hollow, now he had the spiritual power to ground even him? His appearance was what really got to Zakabe however, gone was most of his resemblance to the hollow he had previously been. In the place where a hollow had once stood was a man. His skin had lost its porcelain colour and was now in fact converted into a more tanned appearance. His hair had drastically shortened so that it lay rugged and unattended at shoulder length, back to it's original orange colour. His face was finally revealed and showed to Zakabe's mild surprise the face of a teenaged human male, with a permanent scowl set upon it's face. His eyes were left in their state from previously, they had their black sclera with golden irises and shone out from his very eyes as if to assert their presence.

So he had become an Arrancar had he? But there was one thing that was annoying Zakabe if that was the case, well two to be exact. One where the hell was his mask fragment? No hollow can survive without any of their mask on their head, they are simply destroyed. Two, this then meant that this hollow was on a much higher plane of evolution than what advancing through the hollow stages would allow. There was also the problem of where was his Zanpaktou? If he was an Arrancar where were all of his original powers stored?

Zakabe's eyes drifted down towards Ichigo's torso, that was where he made yet an other astounding discovery about this peculiar hollow. The hollow hole that was present on the left pectoral where the heart should originally be, was now gone. In it's place there was a circular area of pure crystal that seemed to shine in every different colour imaginable in the light. That explained why there was not any mask fragment because, in essence his heart had been filled in again, that was just cheating though, no other hollow could do that. Trailing further down Zakabe noticed that there were a pair of trousers on the man now, they were white in colour and reached up to his waist which was then left bare to the world. All around him a dark spiritual pressure began to twist around menacingly and eventually strands of the spiritual pressure itself began to stick to the body of Ichigo, forming intricate tattoo's just like the ones he had within his hollow form, only this time they were black and seemed to glow with a dark light. Just what was this hollow hiding?

Ichigo moved bringing his right arm upwards with his outstretched hand opened towards him, which immediately caused Zakabe to reach for the handle of his Zanpaktou. In Ichigo's right hand was simply nothing at all, until after a few seconds three rings of forever varying colour began to extend their way around his forearm after certain gaps. The rings then began to spin the first and the third spinning clockwise and the second spinning counter-clockwise. Zakabe was not about to sit around and find out whatever that was could do to him, leaping upwards he grabbed at a high branch and swung himself up onto a crouching position atop the branch. The second he had managed to do that however Ichigo had flashed in and out of existence and appeared right in front of him, his fist retracted and ready to fire forwards again. Zakabe was able to look into those eyes before he hastily dodged the punch that initially only caused the branch to snap but then caused the whole tree to be uprooted and shot out of the dome.

Those eyes, they chilled even the mind of Zakabe, the Arrancar who had taught himself never to allow anything to surprise or even scare him at all. Those eyes held anger, fury, rage, coldness, passion. So many conflicting emotions across those what appeared to be lifeless eyes, nothing had ever prepared Zakabe for anything like this. It was almost as if he had so many different reasons for fighting and he was fighting for them all at the same time. He knew what it had been like to fight with those emotions flickering within his eyes.

* * *

/Flashback/

He awoke from his slumber and slowly opened his eyes, baring them to the biting glow of the white room he rested within. He sighed heavily as he lifted his covers from his form and stepped onto the cold marble floor, talking a sharp intake of breath at the sudden coldness Zakabe jumped onto his bed from the floor with a slight yelp of fright. His actions were met with a slight laughter from the archway that served as his doorway into his chamber. He looked up in order to find another Arrancar standing there with his arms folded across his chest. His short black hair and golden eyes made him almost the exact contrast of Zakabe. His eyes looked tired and strained, it was almost painfully too obvious that he had not slept in the past few days.

"What you think you're laughing at?" Zakabe yelled whilst the grin on his face only served to give him away

"Why you of course, you imbecile, getting all freaked out just because the floor is cold, pussy!" his friend jeered before he walked into the room more so with a grin spreading across his face also. He sat down on the end of the bed as they both sat in silence for a few moments, both of their grins slowly fading away from their faces. Zakabe began to get clothed again, braving the cold floor and walking over to his closet and pulling out his regular attire.

"So, today's the day I guess" his friend said almost inaudible

"Are you nervous then?" Zakabe asked his almost insulted friend

"Nervous? Of course I'm nervous! What the hell ever persuaded me to challenge the authority of Volak-Sama?" his friend asked almost hysterical

"Don't worry about it Zurak, I'll be there to watch your back" Zakabe assured his friend pointing to his cheery smiling face with his thumb. Zurak's smile started to come back slightly after the.

"Yeah, you've always have my back haven't you?" Zurak asked with a hint of appreciation "Well I promise if I win and I do become leader then we will never have to worry about any of that nonsense anymore!" Zurak stated as he looked off into the distance at nothing in particular.

"uuuhh Zurak, you're doing that thing again" Zakabe pointed out to his friend who just looked at him in confusion.

"What thing?" he asked quickly

"Where you look off in the distance at nothing at all" Zakabe said as he copied the motion down to the letter, only to much it up and begin laughing.

"Hey! Stop laughing at me!" Zurak tried to shout only managing to begin sputtering his own laughter.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, content to just sit in silence just waiting for the time to pass by until the event at hand had to be done.

"What if some other Arrancar jumps in to help Volak-Sama?" Zurak asked returning to his nervous ways, normally Zakabe would become annoyed at his turn to fears but to be honest right now if he wasn't afraid, he was a fool.

"Then I shall destroy them" Zakabe answered him back without any hesitation in his answer.

"Really? You would kill those who we know so well so easily?" Zurak asked completely surprised

"Yes, I would, and I would enjoy it" Zakabe began "If they want to try and take out my friend in such a manner they deserve no mercy from me" Zakabe finished looking at Zurak

"Thanks man" was all Zurak could say in response with a smile creeping across his face again.

Silence ensued for a long while after that also, until with a huge explosion Zakabe's chamber wall was completely annihilated, and in strode Volak Zoran along with at least four other Arrancar.

"Hey! You could have knocked!" Zakabe complained, without even realising it Volak had used Sonido and had closed the distance between them and using his momentum smashed his shoulder into Zakabe, smashing him against a back wall.

"Zakabe!" Zurak shouted watching his friend smash into the wall, he drew his Zanpaktou and turned to Volak his eyes burning with fury ".!" he yelled at the top of his voice charging in towards his master his Zanpaktou raised high and in both hands. With an almighty clash two Zanpaktou met with explosive force as Zurak's screams escaped from the billowing winds.

The winds died down quickly and revealed a horrifying sight for Zakabe to behold, Volak had sliced his Zanpaktou deep into Zurak's right shoulder and it had dug down deep enough to reach the chest area. As Zurak fell to the ground spluttering blood Zakabe pushed himself from the ground and travelled the distance to his fallen friend. Volak was not one for mercy however and withdrew his Zanpaktou only to drive it back downwards again towards Zurak's neck. A hand came up in order to stop the blade, and even though it cut deep into the hand itself the Zanpaktou was stopped from it's cutting blow.

"Zakabe, I'm not going down that easily, you just make sure those four don't interfere" Zurak wheezed as he lifted himself from the ground balancing himself on his Zanpaktou and then lifted it again moving into his battle stance. Which consisted of him holding his Zanpaktou upside down so that the blade faced the ground in his normal stance, with a steady breathe to ease his aching body he charge again and Volak.

The four other Arrancar instantly jumped from their standing points towards the already badly wounded Arrancar.

"Oh no you don't" Zakabe shouted as he charged up a quick Bara and blasted it off towards the nearest Arrancar which then went on to create a domino effect as they all fell into each other. They all turned around in order to look at their assailant finding him harbouring a demonic grin that bared his teeth to them.

"Come you shoddy, backstabbers, show me just how you can match up against me!" Zakabe challenged as he charged at the four of them, not even drawing out his own Zanpaktou where all of them had drew theirs. He did not care, if they could cut him then that would make them all the more fun to fight with, it would give both him and Zurak something to test their brute strength out on. However he was not stupid nor an ideologist, he knew that Zurak stood little chance alone against Volak, Zakabe was going to have to beat these Arrancar quickly and then go on to help his friend.

One of the Arrancar came flying towards him and slashed across his abs, only managing to create sparks that danced around the blade. Zakabe quickly grabbed the hem of the Arrancar's overcoat and thrashed his head against the closest wall. Turning back around he saw another Arrancar try his luck by trying to slash across his pectorals this time, managing to elicit some pain and cause a cut across his skin Zakabe did not even blink in the pain. If anything his smile only managed to grow larger, someone who could cut him, how excellent!

He looked to the same Arrancar and could see that it had an all but expressionless face, this was unbelievable, he had brought along his four best guards? He had always planned on fighting Zurak unfairly, motherfucker! As Zakabe's mind roared out in anger all three of the Arrancar came charging at him. He span around in order to deflect all of the hits directed in his direction causing two Arrancar to be momentarily stunned. The other one however was not so easily put off and continued onwards cutting downwards right down the left side of Zakabe's torso, from right pectoral down to his central ab. Grunting through the pain Zakabe could feel his mind starting to kick out again, this feeling whenever he got a fight he knew he was going to enjoy.

The other two Arrancar quickly reappeared and slashed across his chest at opposite angles and with that Zakabe's mind exploded into overdrive as it all but left him and his body was run by his instincts. His laugh ran through the room they were in and all within it were forced to look in his direction as the evil laughter only seemed to escalate.

"What is wrong with him!" Volak roared at his Arrancar entourage

"He's enjoying himself now" Zurak chuckled from behind the hollow master, causing Volak to turn back to the battered and bloodied Arrancar at his feet.

"What do you mean?" Volak asked almost interested

"When he thinks he has a good fight it's as if his personality vanishes and all that's left is his raw instincts, so to be honest he could be classed as released before he has even actually released his Zanpaktou" Zurak answered with a smile.

"Why are you smiling, you fool?" Volak asked the grounded Arrancar.

"Because, as strong as your Arrancar bodyguard are, they stand no chance against Zakabe" Zurak answered with a slight laugh, which then caused some blood to spew out from his mouth and nose. Off in the distance Zakabe continued to fight and basically play with the three Arrancar still standing.

"Well it is a good thing I did not only have the four of them then isn't it?" Volak asked as hundreds of Arrancar were revealed to hiding in different places around the room "Attack" was all he said as they all charged towards Zakabe. Volak turned back to Zurak.

"You are not even worth my time, enjoy your time in hell" Volak called out as he rammed his Zanpaktou right through the head of Zurak, his screams came out in one blast of pure sound that rocketed towards Zakabe.

The scream awakened something in Zakabe as he lifted his head and looked at the form of Zurak with a Zanpaktou through his head. His mind returned as he finally realised what had happened.

"Zurak! Nooo!" Zakabe shouted already realising he was too late to save his friend. He was too late to figure out that there were many blades that were screaming towards him at the same time as the other three from earlier. Zakabe's mind was set solely on Zurak though and he did not even notice the bite of the many different weapons until they had slashed across his torso almost unmercifully. He grunted in pain at the sudden cuts and gashes at his body but he still did not take his eyes away from Volak. He pushed himself to his feet and ignoring all of the Arrancar that surrounded him charged right into the direction of Volak, dodging and weaving as the Arrancar continued to try and slash at him. His friend was down and he sure as hell was not going to allow Volak to get away from this without any kind of injury. Drawing out his Zanpaktou he aimed it at the body of Volak and shot forwards with the speed that only Sonido would permit him. He was within inches of Volak when he felt his Zanpaktou dig into flesh.

To his horror however, it was the back of Zurak that he had run through with his Zanpaktou. Volak had at just the right time brought his own Zanpaktou around in order to use Zurak's body as a human shield. His smile was easy to see as he slightly moved the body to allow Zakabe to witness his expression.

"Well, well how does it feel to be the one to send your friend to hell?" Volak asked just as the very gates to hell opened up behind him. A large blade extended out from within the gates and stabbed right through Zurak's body, smashing Zakabe's own aside as it did so. It then retracted towards the gates again. Leaving Zakabe to be overwhelmed with grief and hatred, in his weakened state however he was not prepared for the second set of attacks to be issued from the Arrancar that had chased him. He looked up again at Volak this time and as the gates to hell closed Volak could see hatred burning within those sapphire eyes. He was worried now, hatred was never a good thing to fight against because they never cared about themselves when in a fight, only that they caused damage. Zakabe charged at him again his Zanpaktou raised high ready to fall down quickly, Volak answered by raising his own Zanpaktou just as quickly, he was able to inflict a cut from Zakabe's chin and up across his right eye, but he could see just the way that the blood dripped into his eye and he did not blink. Zakabe was not perturbed about his body no longer, he wanted to destroy.

Zakabe raised his Zanpaktou above his head and looked around himself, he was completely surrounded by Arrancar on all sides.

"You should not have killed Zurak" Zakabe told them before he was completely gone. His form was dancing around the Arrancar as it fazed in and out of reality before them and easily slashed across them without the slightest hint of anything stopping him. His laughter did not grow any more, he had no reason to laugh, or to enjoy his fights. His one reason for fighting was to live longer and to fight alongside his oldest friend, both of them fighting on forever, now he was in hell at the torment of those damaged souls.

As the Arrancar continued to be slaughtered mercilessly by Zakabe, Volak noticed the change in the Arrancar now. Where his friend had said that he would enjoy himself if he were in a good fight, he did not appear to be enjoying himself right now, in fact he seemed to be in pain. Volak would have killed him there and then but something struck in him, if he could get this Arrancar on his side then that would be a highly powerful ally, he would also do very nicely to fight against Shinigami, especially that Kenpachi thing that Aizen had mentioned once before and that Nnoitra Jiruga was killed by. Not to mention he had alongside some other captain killed Yammy.

Volak watched as Zakabe's massacre neared him and readied himself. As Zakabe finished off the final Arrancar within the room he turned his head towards Volak. Volak was surprised by what he saw there, for a hollow to have emotions in their minds was surprising, but to have such emotions in their eyes was something else. He could see hatred, rage, pain, love all manner of emotions he never expected to see. As Zakabe charged at him directly he raised his Zanpaktou high and brought it down to bite into Volak's own Zanpaktou, both Zanpaktou screaming out in pain as they clashed.

Staring directly into his eyes Zakabe felt his strength leaving him, those eyes of Volak's were starting to dance around in their sockets. Zakabe tried to move his sight away from the eyes but found that he could not and that his eyes were trapped. Grunting in his attempts to move he was only able to do nothing.

"Now listen, you are a worthy Arrancar, and I shall spare your life if you shall serve me" Volak offered his eyes never blinking. Zakabe found himself trying to deny the offer but something within his mind told him otherwise.

"Zakabe, agree to it" came a familiar voice in his head, so familiar he almost felt as if he could cry.

"Zurak?" Zakabe asked desperate for it not to be a farce.

"Yes my friend, I am dead and gone, you cannot hope to get revenge for me at your current level, Volak-Sama is far too powerful even for you" Zurak's voice rung out in his head

"Then what should I do, I want his head for killing you" Zakabe answered back angrily

"Things are in motion my friend, and I believe this new arrival will be your ticket to killing Volak" Zurak's voice called out.

"New arrival?" Zakabe asked confused

"There is a hollow who arrived around about six months ago, his power rises and Volak-Sama fears it greatly, find that hollow, use it to destroy Volak-Sama, that way we can both die in peace" Zurak finished his voice fading away.

Zakabe looked right into Volak's eyes and with as much determination as he could possibly muster,

"Very well, I will work for you as a loyal subject, Volak-Sama" Zakabe answered his voice never faltering.

"Excellent, I shall see to it that you are well looked after in that case, consider this a new partnership" Volak finished releasing Zakabe from his hold and walking out of the massacre that was left in Zakabe's room.

"Don't expect this partnership to last long sir, the first chance I get, I will kill you!" Zakabe whispered harshly to himself as he fell to his knees and finally grieved for his fallen friend.

/End of Flashback/

* * *

As Zakabe touched ground again, it was not long until Ichigo was right in front of him yet again, those burning eyes boring into his very soul. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, lets just not even go there. He brought his left fist thundering towards Zakabe, aimed right at his stomach and Zakabe was only just able to punch Ichigo's forearm, if only to slightly deflect the blow. As Ichigo's fist continued downwards it connected with the ground and caused a huge explosion. Zakabe raised his left arm to protect his eyes from the dust and debris. Lowering his hand again he looked up to the figure that stood above him, to all extents he was basically a human being, by looks anyway. Yet his spiritual pressure told a completely different story, it was nothing that Zakabe had felt before, to put it more correctly he felt almost nothing. What little he could feel though did seem all too familiar, like something he had touched once before and was never able to touch again, even if he had wanted to.

Ichigo extended his right hand again, the rings along his forearm beginning their spinning movement again began to whir and create a louder screeching noise. In an instant a sword had appeared within Ichigo's hand, a sword that looked like any regular Zanpaktou in it's sealed state. Its form was completely white in colour though, rather peculiar Zakabe thought to himself, but nothing about this creature had really made too much sense since he had met it. Ichigo raised the Zanpaktou and pointed it downwards, ready to deliver the finishing blow to the Arrancar. Zakabe was not about to let himself get beaten so easily though.

Arching backwards on the ground and then pushing with his hands he propelled himself back onto his feet at the same time kicking the blade away from his direction. Ichigo's face registered the movement and Zakabe was able to notice the slight surprise within his eyes. Using that to his advantage he charged forwards with his own Zanpaktou and slashed at Ichigo's mid-section, his blade was intercepted however by a white covered Zanpaktou. Zakabe looked back into the eyes of the creature only to see them into a distant state almost as if he was spacing out.

"What do you think you are doing?" Zakabe roared at Ichigo his emotions getting the better of him. Ichigo's expression did not change at the outburst if anything it seemed as if his body was on auto pilot as whenever Zakabe aimed a hit anywhere on his body it was easily intercepted and the eyes were not even following his movements.

Ichigo's glazed eyes eventually came back into focus after a few moments of failed attempts by Zakabe to intercept his almost unbreakable defence. Ichigo looked at Zakabe and a small smile started to form as he looked more intensely at Zakabe.

"You don't hate me do you, more to the fact you need me" Ichigo stated, which completely took Zakabe by surprise, this creature had the audacity to put itself in such a position did it?

"How do you know that?" Zakabe asked sarcastically causing Ichigo to look at him with that same look.

"Because the voice in my head said so" Ichigo tried to explain

"You do realise how stupid you managed to make that sound?" Zakabe asked him as he raised an eyebrow

"Yes, but in any case, I know that you want revenge on your master. Whatever reason it is I don't really care, you seem strong though. How's about you ally yourself with me? And if those Arrancar are taking those girls to your master, well you get to have your revenge" Ichigo tried to argue to Zakabe as aforementioned man sat in almost stupid surprise. How did he know that he wanted to kill his master? How could he have possibly known? Zakabe had silently been formulating his master plan for months. Wait a second, was this the hollow that Zurak had tried to inform him about?

"You, hollow what is your name?" Zakabe asked quickly

"I'd prefer human thanks, and it's Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki" Ichigo answered nicely, if just to keep up appearances. Human? That was impossible? How could a hollow become a human, it was just not possible, it couldn't be.

"Where are the Arrancar taking the two girls?" Ichigo asked almost with a command.

"They are taking them to Volak-Sama" Zakabe answered beginning to stand up again "They will not be far away by now" he finished finally getting up again and taking up offensive stance against Ichigo.

"You do not need to do that any longer, I have no quarrel with you, you had no other choice in what you done and as such I have no dispute with you" Ichigo told Zakabe turning away from him and stepping onto the fallen remains of a tree.

"I am going to save Sachi and Kyota, and if your master gets in my way I will kill him, so I suggest that if you want that honour, you be there when I finally reach him" Ichigo told Zakabe before he jumped from the fallen tree and through the wall of the dome.

Zakabe was completely surprised when he noticed that without Ichigo's presence everything within the dome seemed to wither down slightly, the steam from the trees thinned out immensely. The colour of the trees themselves turned a darker shade of green as the lake in the centre of the oasis began to lose its almost eternal shine and become dull. Just what kind of power did that Ichigo person have?

* * *

Ichigo blasted across the desert of Hueco Mundo using whatever methods of high speed movement he could whether it was Sonido or Shunpo he was not sure but in all entirety, he really did not care as long as it got him to his destination. His mind wandered to the newly acquired memories he had regained as an effect of going into that dome. His memories filled with his exploits after he had been killed by Aizen and he had to stop himself in the middle of the desert. He had done that? He had done such things to those he had cared about so much?

He had tried to lash out at Inoue when he was unable to touch her, he had came to the conclusion that she was his nemesis and the worst thing in the world for him. How could he ever face her again? He had said so much that he himself knew he could not be forgiven for, no matter who it was even Orihime could not forgive him for saying such things, he had declared to her that he would kill her the next time they met. Tatsuki would be hurt also, as the oldest of friends for her to end up pummelling him, it had not physically hurt but looking back on it now, mentally it boiled his insides. It was soul crushing to see his best friend of so many years on his chest punching into his face repeatedly as tears fell down from her cheeks. For those same tears to fall onto his body though was almost as if it was literally burning into him. He felt horrible, he had put his friends through so much, he had hurt Chad, Uryu, Tatsuki, Rukia and Renji. Yet worst of all was what he had put Orihime through.

He had went to face Aizen clear in his mind that he was going to kill or stop the traitorous captain at all costs and return to Orihime, where he would confess to her the reasons why he had went to such extents to save her. He knew that he had died twice in saving her and the second time he had recovered in a hollow form, yet he could still see, and he was still the control centre as he directed it to protect Orihime against all kinds of danger. Then as he had came out to face Aizen he was confident in his ability to kill the traitor and put everything back the way it was. Yet fate had a twist in store for him and just as he used his final ace in the hole, Aizen was able to survive and end up causing him to die, yet again.

He knew that in death he would forget about Orihime so as he was lifted into the Garganta he thought of nothing but Orihime, wishing her to be the last thing on his mind as he died. It appears as if that was the worst thing he could have done for her as it had caused his hollow to question why it remembered her and why she was so important. Believing her to be significant it had then labelled her as the enemy and flushed her out for annihilation. Which brought him back to his mental battle right now, how could he ever face her again? She had been anything but cruel to him all the time they knew each other and how had he repaid her? By proclaiming that he would kill her, yes great move Ichigo.

He could not think on those things right now though, he had to save Sachi and Kyota from whoever it was that had dared take them from him. Blasting off into his high speed movement he moved across the sands of Hueco Mundo as if he were basically flying. Blasting spiritual pressure out from his feet he found his speed increased significantly, why had he not realised this power before? He would have reached that oasis much more quickly than he had, and then neither Sachi nor Kyota would have been kidnapped. Ichigo was angry at himself for his lapse in thought about such things and was only able to register a large Zanpaktou careening towards his face an instant before it connected with his face.

"You managed to beat Zakabe? Wow you must be strong! Maybe even strong enough to take me on maybe?" Nyuka gloated gleefully as Ichigo landed on his feet again backwards from his previous position, since that was where the Zanpaktou had previously been.

"I really don't have time for this" Ichigo answered as he could see the rapidly minimising of the figures on the horizon. Turning to the large man he lamented on how much this brute reminded him of Yammy and smiled.

"what you smiling at trash?" Nyuka asked his pupils going tiny.

"Even the language is the same, if I was so inclined I'd say you were Yammy" Ichigo stated as he cocked his head to the side earning a strained body from Nyuka in response.

"What did you say?" Nyuka seethed through his teeth.

"Ahh, this will be easy if you're anything like Yammy, he was an idiot" Ichigo finished as he stepped back slightly readying the rings upon his wrists.

"Ready?" Ichigo asked the large Arrancar as a grin stretched its way across his face.

_**The Human World**_

* * *

"It's been a while since I was here" Orihime said to the woman who was by her side and helping her on her ways, since her body was really not ready to move on its own fully.

"Me too, the last time I was here was at Isshin and Masaki's wedding, that was a wonderful day" Yoruichi answered as she stared off at the house itself.

"You sound like you enjoyed yourself" Orihime pointed out with a smile which Yoruichi returned.

"Well, I did, Isshin was always a nice man and Masaki was a very beautiful and caring woman, I was happy that Isshin didn't have to watch me and Urahara together while he was alone anymore" Yoruichi explained gaining a slight giggle and a raised eyebrow from Orihime.

"Come on you cant say you never seen that?" Yoruichi smiled to Orihime.

"Well I just thought it more polite not to say anything" Orihime answered as she slightly giggled.

Orihime was nervous about what she was about to do, the house in front of her was one of the few places she ever really wanted to go back to. It was the place where her love had once lived and since she was partially at fault for him leaving and eventually dying, it was not one of the most inviting places to her own perspective. With a look at Yoruichi said woman turned to her and with a smiled placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it will be fine, that is why I am here" Yoruichi told her as she began to move forwards gently pushing Orihime along with her, at first Orihime was against going anywhere but with another look at Yoruichi's smiling face felt her fears subsiding slightly. She began to move forwards when she heard the door directly in front of her opening and looked up to see both Karin and Yuzu walking out of the house. Neither of them even looked up as they left and completely ignored their father as he called his farewells to them, with a low exhale he seen both Orihime and Yoruichi and motioned for them both to enter.

Both Yoruichi and Orihime walked into the house and could see that it was much darker than the last time either had been in the house.

"I apologise for the darkness, but with me working a lot and Yuzu no longer in a helpful mood I find it hard to keep things bright in here" Isshin explained to them both. They all walked into the living room and as they were all around a small oval table surrounded by a three seated couch and a single seated armchair, Isshin motioned for both of them to take a seat. Orihime sat in the centre seat as Yoruichi sat in the far right seat, Isshin sat in the arm chair to their right and crossed his right leg over hiss left intertwining all of his fingers.

"Now, Inoue-san I am sure you may be wondering why you are here?" Isshin asked as he noticed Orihime's wandering eyes to all of the things within his much darker home.

"Well, yes sir, to be honest I'm not sure why unless you want to yell at me" Orihime answered as she lowered her head expecting the worst.

"Yell at you? … oh no no no, you have me all wrong my dear, it is nothing of that sort I assure you, and it is nothing entirely illegal either, that was why I wished Yoruichi to be present as she can attest to all that I say here" Isshin told her as he sat still in his position.

"Then what do you want to talk to Inoue about Isshin?" Yoruichi asked, getting directly to the point.

"Well to be entirely honest, I was wanting to talk about her living arrangements" Isshin answered surprising both Yoruichi and Orihime with his statement.

"I'm sorry but what?" Yoruichi asked almost unable to voice her question.

"I wish to talk to Inoue-san about her living arrangements at this one moment and time" Isshin re-iterated making sure that his point was made clearly.

"What about them?" Yoruichi asked still surprised about the topic of conversation, to be honest she had been on the same wavelength as Orihime about what she had thought Isshin wanted to talk about.

"You live alone am I correct?" Isshin asked Orihime directly again.

"Well right now Rangiku-san is living with me" Orihime answered as she felt Isshin's eyes staring directly at her face.

"Overall you live alone though, am I correct?" Isshin asked his voice becoming tender.

"Yes" was the timid answer that Orihime could muster.

"What are you getting at Isshin?" Yoruichi asked hating to listen to something that was being vague.

"I am simply offering Orihime a safe place in which to live, she is able to live with myself and my daughters as she sees fit" Isshin answered completely taking both Yoruichi and Orihime with that statement.

"You want her to live here?" Yoruichi asked mystified as her mouth lay hanging open and orihimes eyes widened in shock.

"Well I offered her the opportunity but in reality, yes I would prefer it if Orihime stay here" Isshin answered as he stood back onto his feet.

"But why would she need to stay here?" Yoruichi asked turning to face her friend completely unsure of what he was planning.

"Ichigo will return, he doesn't like leaving something left half finished, and if he really is out to kill Inoue-san, sorry for reminding you my dear, then I believe I am the best for defending her against him" Isshin answered as he walked around the table and stood on Orihime's other side. She had flinched at the reminder of Ichigo's harsh words that he would kill her but felt an explosion of happiness at what she was being offered. A chance at having a family almost, and Isshin did not want to yell at her which must mean that he wanted to take care of her almost as a real father should do, not like her biological one.

"I will treat you as if you were one of my own daughters, you will know the love of a father and I shall make sure that your life from now on improves significantly, all I ask is that you move in so that I can watch over you and protect you from that which was once my son" Isshin said to her even if he did force the bit about Ichigo out through his mouth as if it physically burned him.

"Isshin do you know what you are offering?" Yoruichi asked sceptically.

"Of course I know what I'm offering! As his father I will look after this poor girl he has terrified, I shall treat her as if she was my own blood! Do not take me for a jester Lady Shiohin!" Isshin seethed to Yoruichi. She knew she had trodden on him the second he had called her that, he had never called her that ever since they were small and she had asked him to call her by her first name. with his use of formalities and the very way that he had said them showed her how drastically both hers and Urahara's actions had been. It had definitely strained their relationships and she was not sure how they may be fixed or if they even could be.

"Sorry" was the only reply Yoruichi had for him.

"Don't apologise, just do not think I would say this so lightly" Isshin answered turning his gaze back on Orihime, "Well what do you think miss Inoue, would you like to become a member of our household?" he asked with his tenderness back in place.

Orihime had to think about this for a while, an opportunity to have a family, something she had not been allowed to know because of her parents drunken ways and her brother's untimely death. Now here was an opportunity just wanting to be taken up, but it did come with its prices obviously. She would forever be reminded of him, Ichigo, his portrait was beside his mother's and at the bottom of both pictures there were some candles almost as if the twin girls had come to realise the significance of both portraits. Yet as she thought about it she could see the way Isshin had changed, she had not seen him much but he had always been much more exuberant whenever she had, now he seemed so much more serious and withdrawn. Maybe he needed someone to fill in the gap that Ichigo had left and as he seen the way his son had acted he felt it his duty to do this? In any case Orihime felt that having a family sounded like a wonderful idea.

"Yes Mr Kurosaki I would love to live here" Orihime answered with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, I will be able to live in peace knowing you are closer at hand if ever something dangerous happens" Isshin answered as his serious face started to fade into a more relaxed one

"Are you sure about this Orihime?" Yoruichi asked as she turned to the younger woman.

"Yes, Yoruichi-san, I'm sure I've never had a family before, and I could fill in the gap that kurosaki-kun left" Orihime added before she slapped her hand across her mouth, mortified at what she had said. She slowly turned to Isshin only to be surprised when she saw a smile on his face.

"That would be nice Inoue-san, that would be nice, and yes you will have a family, you are now part of the Kurosaki clan" Isshin told her as his smile never faded.

"Sorry but do you mind If I keep my own second name, I don't mean any disrespect but I want to keep it in honour of my brother until marriage at least" Orihime asked hoping to stamp on Isshin's toes, but was lucky when he merely chuckled slightly.

"Of course that is fine Inoue-san" Isshin answered as his smile slowly disappeared into a friendlier face.

"May I ask permission to use your fist name, and that my daughters be able to also, just to make things easier?" Isshin asked Orihime as he made his way into his kitchen.

"Of course, call me Orihime from now on" Orihime answered him with her trademark smile which Isshin returned in kind.

Yoruichi was left in surprise, Isshin had offered Orihime what she had always dreamed of, a family and he had done it so casually. He was taking so much more responsibility about the situation than he really did need to, then again Isshin had been like that. If something even remotely connected to him occurred he would try to help whoever it was that it had happened to and attempt to apologise through actions and not through words. That was just the way Isshin worked and in this situation his apology was in the form of asking Orihime to live with him and to be able to protect her from what had become so dangerous to her, his very own son.

"Would I be better getting your things from your apartment Orihime?" Yoruichi asked as she lifted herself up from her seat.

"Yes please Yoruichi-san" was Orihime's happy and bubbly reply, which caused both Yoruichi and Isshin to smile again, she was happy about the arrangement. That was good because otherwise Isshin would have made sure that both Urahara and Yoruichi took her in and guarded her with their lives.

"Well then Orihime, let me show you your new room then shall I?" Isshin asked as Yoruichi left and closed the door behind her. Orihime looked up to Isshin as her happiness escalated even further and as she tried to get up out of her seat she fell right back into it again and sighed in disappointment in her inability to move on her own.

" Come here, I'll help you move" Isshin said to her tenderly as he snaked his arm around to her back and lifted her out of the seat and helped her along to the stairs. As they began to climb the stairs Orihime began to wonder if she was going to be in beside the other two girls and began to think about all the stories they could possibly have. All the gossip about things like boys and make-up and food. She smiled to herself at the very thought and did not even notice the door that she had been lead to, once the door had been opened however she realised instantly what room it was. It was Ichigo's.

"But Kurosaki-san, this is Ichigo's room!" Orihime pointed out as she felt bad about taking his old room.

"First of all, call me dad and secondly , it 'was' his room, I doubt he will be back to claim it as his own again Orihime" Isshin told her as he lead her into the room. It was still plain as it only really had the bed, the bedside table and the closet that was half open.

"It is a bit plain, but I'm sure that with some of the things from your apartment, things will look much brighter again!" Isshin told her as he began to smile again.

Isshin was surprised by what he felt next, he was suddenly trapped between a pair of arms that had wrapped their way around his waist as the small girl had wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you… dad" was all Orihime could say as she simply stood there hugging Isshin. He could only smile as he gently stroked the hair on her head and placed his other hand on her back returning the hug back to her.

"Don't mention it Orihime" Isshin answered before he leaned down to her ear and whispered to her "Now would you mind helping me coming up with a good excuse for you living here for the girls?" Isshin asked as he gingerly rubbed the back of his head while laughing slightly.

"You see I made up my mind about this without really asking their opinion so I don't really know what I should say to them" Isshin explained to her.

"I'm sure we can think of something!" Orihime answered him confidently punching at the air in front of her almost causing her to hit Isshin but she was able to redirect her fist before it was able to do any damage.

"thank you Orihime" was all Isshin said as she released him from her hold. He took one last look at the room that had once been his son's and sighed in resignation, he was definitely never going to come back to reclaim this room any time soon.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo**_

Ichigo brought both of his fists back and as he done so the rings on both of his arms forearms began to spin wildly. His grin only managed to grow as a distinct whirring could be heard as the rings began to spin so quick that he created an almost screech from them.

"I hope you're ready for me" Ichigo goaded as he charged forwards both of his fists ready to hit into Nyuka's stomach. His fists connected with the large girth of the Arrancar and he heard the grunt as the full impact of his hit was felt by the Arrancar. Jumping back away from Nyuka Ichigo eyed up his situation carefully, he found that he was flanked on his left and right sides with at least six other Arrancar around Nyuka himself. They all smiled with much anticipation evident within their eyes.

Ichigo lifted his right hand and opened it towards the ground below him, from the sand below the tiny granules lifted into the air below his hand. Eventually they began to meet up and fuse together, slowly a sword began to form, one that resembled his white Bankai form that his hollow had always used to use. Once it had finally finished forming all of the Arrancar watched as a searing heat ran up the blade from its tip to the handle. Once it reached Ichigo's hand it was visible to see that the entire blade looked transparent, even Ichigo noticed this and upon looking at it surprised was answered by the voice again.

_Well diamonds are one of the toughest materials known to humanity, a diamond covered and encrusted sword can only be a good thing right? This is part of my gift to you for now, some of my power _the voice explained as Ichigo could feel his grin growing on his face yet again, he was starting to enjoy battles much more now.

* * *

_Well here you go, the next chapter is up, sorry for taking as long but illness kinda got me down for a while and I could not really do this at all._

_For all who think this is going slowly I apologise and promise you that next chapter will be more about the fighty stuffs._

_Dark Jason - I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as the others my friend =]_

_Himelove22 - the two girls are a pair of Arrancar that Ichigo met outside of Las Noches and lead himn to the oasis, they will play a bigger part in later chapters._

_Zanbadia- I hope you will stick with this for next chapter because by then I shall begin to go into more depth about the fights that are up coming._

_So to all of you who have been reading I hope you enjoy and shall see you again next chapter, until then R&R please - Varrukh _


	8. Chapter 8 Battle Ignition

Ichigo raised his transparent Zanpaktou high above his head and watched in satisfaction as he could see the terrified faces of all of the Arrancar fall. they were all petrified of him now and he had done nothing yet, oh how it hurt to have fear without any real actions. His grin twisted it's way onto his face as his spiritual pressure surged around him causing the fabric on his trousers and indeed the fabric on all of the Arrancar's clothes to billow around them as if a huge surge of wind were passing through. All of the Arrancar besides Nyuka raised their hands in an effort to shield their faces from the oppressive winds, this was a big mistake because as soon as they had taken their eyes off Ichigo he was gone. Nyuka had seen his movement and quickly vacated the area.

Ichigo charged forward and fired straight into a male Arrancar stabbing his Zanpaktou right through his left arm, twisting the blade the screams of the Arrancar attested to his theory that he had hit something important. Retracting his blade again he turned to the Arrancar seeing it's pained face Ichigo felt a pang of guilt and wanted to finish the Arrancar off quickly so that he did not feel pain for too long. Swinging his Zanpaktou around quickly in order to decapitate the head of the Arrancar that he had just so grievously wounded. His blade met with some slight resistance before finally impaling itself into something much softer. He turned around to see that there was an other Arrancar who was standing in front of the first, he had attempted to block Ichigo's blade but it had completely passed through his own and had cut deep into his face. The Arrancar on the edge of Ichigo's blade slid off slowly, only for the first Arrancar to realise what had happened.

Ichigo looked at the face of the other Arrancar, the eyes of the Arrancar were what intrigued him the most however. They showed hate and they showed anger but also most surprisingly they showed a degree of love. That should not even be possible, he was an Arrancar, in all of the time that Ichigo had known about Arrancar he had never known any to have felt love for anyone or anything to be exact. Grimmjow had only cared about proving that he was the best and that he was the king, Nnoitra was more interested in being the strongest and never being subservient to a woman hating them beyond belief and Ulquiorra, well he had no emotions and as such he never cared about anything, neither loved nor loathed anything.

This Arrancar clearly showed a high degree of love for the fallen Arrancar and that was what threw Ichigo off for a bit. When the Arrancar had charged at him it had not done it with it's Zanpaktou in hand in stead it had basically just pummelled it's fist forwards, Ichigo was not quite quick enough to keep up with the speed of the Arrancar and as a result was hit square in the cheek and sent back a few feet. Ichigo's diamond like Zanpaktou fell from his grip and disintegrated back into it's singular granules of sand. Skidding to a stop Ichigo wiped the dirt from his face and looked at the Arrancar again, it had almost the exact same clothing as Ulquiorra had worn except the sleeves were far shorter, only reaching above the elbows. His Zanpaktou was strapped to his back, much like the way captain Hitsugaya's was, the difference being this Arrancar was at least medium height.

The eyes to Ichigo's amazement that held that strong emotion turned colour from a placid blue to a deadly red colour in a steady motion. His skin turned from a rather fair colour, not quite Ulquiorra style, to a darker and browner colour. As his transformation was complete he turned to look at Ichigo and with those, now hate filled eyes charged forwards at Ichigo's position. The Arrancar raised it's right hand and Ichigo could see that the wound he had inflicted upon the Arrancar earlier had fully healed and was functioning perfectly well. The fist came flying towards Ichigo's face but this time he was able to deflect the blow to his right, only for the aftershock of the attack to blast out behind him, kicking up much of the sand in the surrounding area. Ichigo looked at the sheer show of strength and felt a huge amount of wonderment, both at the strength of the Arrancar but also his own strength.

_Well Ichigo, you are one with me and I have given you some of my power, it only makes sense that your body could withstand such gruesome punishment_ the voice answered him without any prompt.

'This is your power?' Ichigo asked the voice unable to contain his surprise and excitement at the fact.

_Yes, however use it wisely, I left my last master because he did not and I will do the same to you if you are the same as him_ the voice told him as it began to fade away again into his subconscious.

The Arrancar corrected itself quickly, kicking it's legs out it propelled itself backwards and away from Ichigo, so that it could avoid any form of counterattack, Ichigo was far too surprised to get one ready in time and as such the Arrancar was able to distance itself quickly enough. Ichigo looked on at the rest of the Arrancar and could see that they were almost relaxing, as if they believed that he was now not even worth the hassle, there was one thing he noticed however and that was the fact that Nyuka was no longer amongst the other Arrancar, either hiding or had simply left. With the revelation of this Ichigo was gladdened to find out that it was one less Arrancar he would have to fight in order to retrieve Sachi and Kyota.

He turned back to the enraged Arrancar who's spiritual pressure had taken a furiously strong blue colour as his anger simply melted into his spiritual pressure. The Arrancar charged at Ichigo his fist primed to smack into Ichigo's face, by now Ichigo had managed to slightly figure out that there was an explosive amount of spiritual pressure built up in the Arrancar's fist and that it was released at the point of contact. Dodging the punch aimed to his face Ichigo grabbed onto the extended arm, finding that it burned him to even touch the Arrancar's arm. Now he had surmised that it must be the entire arm that was coated in a dense amount of spiritual pressure, rendering the arm unblock able.

Ichigo charged the rings on his forearms around furiously at the slightest of thoughts, building up his own spiritual pressure in an attempt to parry the attack of the Arrancar with a mirror of that same power. The Arrancar charged at him with a roar of it's own fury and aimed a punch at Ichigo's face yet again, Ichigo brought up his fist with the rotating rings on the forearm and shot it forwards towards the approaching fist. Both fists met with an almighty clash that managed to kick up enough sand and dust to completely conceal both Ichigo and the enraged Arrancar.

As the sand and dust fell to the ground again the Arrancar that had taken it upon themselves to lose interest finally found a reason to be terrified and find that interest again. As the scene before them completely unfurled to their eyes again they were met with the sight of Ichigo's outstretched fist reaching out to nothing at all. In the same direction of his fist a very distinct trail of blood and a large amount of what might or might not have once been flesh and blood, to be brutally honest no-one could really tell.

All of the Arrancar were left without anything to say nor think, their comrade had went completely insane with grief, they had known that both dead Arrancar had viewed each other as brothers - hence the fact that one sacrificed itself for the other - and it was only to be expected when he had went insane with grief. He may not have been one of the most powerful Arrancar ever but he had at least been able to hold his own and fight on equal grounds with most other Arrancar, yet this creature had simply reduced that powerful Arrancar to nothing more than a mess on the desert floor.

* * *

Ichigo turned to study the rest of the Arrancar that were left surrounding him, they all looked at him with huge amounts of fear evident in their eyes and most of them took a step back from his offensive glare.

"Who is next then, I want to get going soon please" Ichigo asked all of the remaining Arrancar, they all looked at each other as if weighing up their chances between all four of them against the one of Ichigo. They all smiled as if coming to the conclusion that four against one could only have one real outcome.

"Get real you arrogant shit!" one of the Arrancar shouted as the others silently agreed and all charged towards Ichigo all of their Zanpaktou drawn. Ichigo sighed loudly before he extended his right arm out and faced his open palmed hand towards the ground. As the sand granules formed into the diamond white Tensa Zangetsu he grabbed onto the handle of the Zanpaktou just as the searing heat passed over the blade and vulcanised it.

Ichigo raised his Zanpaktou high over his head and looked in the direction of the four Arrancar that had believed they could charge at him and that he would not to anything to stop them. Foolish idiots. The Arrancar got almost close enough to strike at Ichigo individually, yet before they were even able to begin their swings individually they felt a hellishly evil spiritual pressure closing in on them from the same direction that Ichigo had come from. They all stopped in their tracks and turned to the oppressive spiritual pressure, the spiritual pressure itself was so strong that it looked like a huge skull of black spiritual pressure was rocketing towards them it's maw wide open and ready to consume anything and everything in it's path.

Ichigo himself turned to the surprisingly strong spiritual pressure and also saw the black skull in the spiritual pressure, truth be told he thought to himself that the image looked scarily much like the way Zaraki's spiritual pressure had looked above him as they had both charged at each other ready to cleave each other to bits really. As the skull got closer Ichigo could make out the complete contrast of the white on top of the head of the spiritual pressure's owner, he knew that this was the Arrancar that he ha fought in the dome at the oasis, was this the Arrancar coming to finish him off now was it?

Ichigo prepared himself to fight with the Arrancar but was put off by the sheer power of the spiritual pressure that was approaching him with some amount of speed. This spiritual pressure put all of the other Arrancar's to shame, it was almost as if they could not compare in the slightest bit to the power level of Zakabe. Within a few seconds Zakabe had launched himself up into the air above Ichigo and the other four Arrancar, with his descent Ichigo had readied his Zanpaktou and prepared to fight yet again. Yet as Zakabe landed he did so with his back to Ichigo and his oppressive spiritual pressure facing the other Arrancar.

It took a moment for the current situation to register to Ichigo before his confusion was finally solved by what Zakabe came out with.

"If you wish to hurt this human then I shall make sure that you pay for it" Zakabe told all of the Arrancar with as much seriousness in his voice as he could muster. All of the Arrancar instantly lost all of the colour on their faces but as they all looked at Zakabe and could see the seriousness on his face they could do nothing else but smile slightly at him.

"Zakabe-Sama, we all agreed long ago that we followed you till hell comes sir, but that human killed both Gratek and Firolus without any hint of regret" one of the Arrancar told Zakabe as they all looked at Ichigo with much distaste in his voice. Ichigo looked at the back of Zakabe and was almost completely surprised at the one hundred and eighty turn in the Arrancar's attitude towards him.

"That may be the case, however he wishes to save those two girls and to be entirely honest I do no longer wish to live by Volak-Sama's orders any longer, as a result I shall help this human and demonstrate my leaving of his rule" Zakabe told the other four Arrancar as he turned to Ichigo and gave him a slight smile in reassurance. Ichigo felt a smile of his own beginning to form, now he had an ally and by the feel of it an extremely strong one at that.

"Now then, shall you keep to your hatred towards this human and risk taking me on or shall you join with us and fight against Volak-Sama?" Zakabe asked all of the Arrancar present. Their reply was almost as swift as his change of allegiance had been "We are with you until the very end sir, no matter who you follow!" one of the Arrancar shouted to him raising his hand into a salute as the other Arrancar done the same motion and all nodded their heads in agreement.

Zakabe turned to the still surprised but also smiling Ichigo with a smile of his own on his face.

"Well, how do you like the beginnings of your army?" Zakabe asked him as the other four Arrancar behind him began to come up around him, two on each of his sides.

"My army?" Ichigo asked right back to his confused state.

"Well, I'm sorry to say but Volak-Sama has got an awfully large Arrancar army and we are really going to need an army to fight with his" Zakabe told Ichigo as if he believed the orange haired man to be an idiot.

"Who ever said that I was going to fight with this Volak guy though?" Ichigo asked completely missing the part where he had to begin fighting yet an other war.

"Well, he wants those two girls because they deserted him and I do believe we will have to fight our way in order to see them again" Zakabe answered trying to soften the blow as best he could, Ichigo noticed this attempt and his confusion stricken face turned to one of fear and at the same time determination.

"What will he do to them?" Ichigo asked Zakabe with a dangerous hiss added to his voice.

"I don't know, but I can assure you it will not be pretty, leaving Volak is not viewed very well, and as his personal slaves the-" Zakabe was not able to finish his sentence as Ichigo's spiritual pressure rose to a level that managed to make Zakabe struggle against it even in his own hig level of spiritual pressure state.

"They were his 'personal slaves' were they? As children they were his personal slaves!" Ichigo basically roared at Zakabe his fury at the situation the two little girls were in was evident as his spiritual pressure began to ripple and almost look like a water effect.

"To be honest in their time when they were at the palace they were much older, maybe about in their twenties, going by human standards" Zakabe tried to reason with Ichigo hoping that it would be better, which it was since it wouldn't be little girls but it was still disgusting. Ichigo felt this also as he turned to Zakabe and his yellow eyes basically shone in that exact way that they had when Zakabe had last fought him, to be honest that look scared the crap out of Zakabe.

"How long will it take to make the army you talk about to take on Volak?" Ichigo asked in more of a hiss than any comprehensible language.

"Maybe about a couple of months or a year?" Zakabe answered knowing right away that it was not the answer Ichigo had been hoping to hear, evident in the fact that Ichigo looked at him as if he would very much like to kill Zakabe right there on the spot.

"That will take too long, he may hurt them or kill them in that time, and as little girls they will be terrified, take the time out to get an army if you want, I'm going to murder this bastard myself" Ichigo told them all dangerously.

"But wait!, Volak-Sama is far more powerful than you can imagine and you will have to get past his huge number of guards, some of them are not even Arrancar, I don't know where the hell they come from, but they are under his command and are extremely powerful" Zakabe tried to explain to Ichigo who had almost left already.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked looking over his shoulder at Zakabe through his hate filled yellow eyes.

"I mean, we will need an army to take on Volak's forces because it is no longer only Arrancar that guard Volak, there are some weird things going on at Las Noches" Zakabe told Ichigo as he became more solemn.

"And you are happy to let two little girls sit scared out of their wits with the possibility of death over their heads for at least a year while you try to make an army and cause a war?" Ichigo yelled at Zakabe as he found himself angry again.

"I am a hollow, I should not even care about those two girls, in all honesty I would probably kill them if I was not me, you want to save them and since you will be able to help me kill Volak, I am only too happy to help you, however we must get more strength in our forces to stand any chance against Volak's" Zakabe explained as the other Arrancar around him nodded their heads in agreement.

"Just what does this Volak guy have in his army that you are so terrified of?" Ichigo asked completely annoyed at the way Zakabe was acting even though he should be thankful he was getting any help at all.

"Volak-Sama deals with the devil" came the small voice of one of the Arrancar surrounding Zakabe, everyone turned to the female Arrancar who was directly on Zakabe's left and viewed her under close scrutiny.

"What do you mean Hura?" Zakabe asked slightly on edge, if this was true then it was worse than he had thought.

"I once seen Volak-Sama talking with a large red human shaped creature through some sort of window that was surrounded by fire, it sounded completely unlike anything that was once human, it wasn't hollow Shinigami or human at all" Hura answered Zakabe as his eyes widened in complete an utter horror.

"We can forget about the army now" Zakabe told Ichigo as he began walking towards the orange haired man.

"Good, that means there is less time before I finally get Sachi and Kyota back" Ichigo answered as he turned to leave again.

"What are you talking about, there are minions of the devil who are protecting Volak now, you cant hope to face them and then him and then to win!" Zakabe tried to reason with Ichigo.

"I don't care if they are Arrancar, Shinigami or something from hell, nothing will stop me from getting those two girls back that is my promise to them, I will protect them in any way I can, Nothing will stop me!" Ichigo finished as he again turned to leave.

"All for the sake of two girls are you insane man! Are they really worth that much to you that you would give up your life for them?" Zakabe shouted at him wanting to save the man from his almost certain death.

Ichigo thought about that statement hard, he had been prepared to die for those that he cared for in the past, and in fact he had indeed followed through on that fact. He had died at least twice to the same man in fact in order to save Orihime from her torment and imprisonment in Hueco Mundo. He had only been too happy to give up his life if it meant there was a chance of it being what was needed to save Orihime. Now as he thought about it, the two girls had indeed became important to him, they had only ever wanted security and even though they could have easily killed him they never did. All they wanted was someone to protect them and they had even given him the power he needed in order to do that, he could not just simply abandon them now, not after what they had done for him. They had become important to him and with that in mind he turned to look at Zakabe over his shoulder one final time.

"I am not insane, and yes I am willing to give up my life for them if it means there is a better chance of them being safe" Ichigo answered Zakabe whos mouth almost fell to the gound.

"But that wont matter, because I refuse to die, if I die they will not be under my protection any longer and I cant allow that to happen" Ichigo finished before he did finally jump from his spot and vanish into whatever form of quick movement it was he used.

"Come on, we better make sure that he does not actually die" Zakabe told his entourage as they all prepared to leave.

"What about all of Volak-Sama's guards, if they are really all from hell then wont the human surely be killed?" one of his Arrancar asked Zakabe from behind him.

"You know I've fought him and you watched him paste the floor with Gratek, honestly he has some amount of power and it might just be enough to topple Volak-Sama" Zakabe said as a smile managed to find it's way onto his face before he and his Arrancar used Sonido in order to follow in the direction Ichigo had went, towards Las Noches.

* * *

_**Human World**_

Sleeping hurt so much, that was exactly what Orihime felt like when she awoke from one of the what felt like the greatest sleeps ever. Bringing her hands up to her sleepy eyes she rubbed away the crusty material that formed around her eyes during sleep. Looking through her bleary eyes she could see the same green curtains that she had simply fell through when she had come to confess her love to Ichigo. In all fairness she had done so in his sleep and had been just about ready to steal a kiss from him but could not do it in the end, feeling that Ichigo would be unhappy to know that his first kiss was stolen from him.

She finally realised now that she was in fact in Ichigo's room and that fact in itself was multiplied with the fact that she was sleeping in _his_ bed. With blood running to her cheeks at an exceptional pace she jumped out of her bed, well Ichigo's and looked around the room in a frantic panic. She noticed that there were many of the things she used to own in her own home and then she realised that it was from Yoruichi bringing her belongings to her home yesterday. Stretching and looking at the clock on the bedside table she could see that the time was at least six in the morning, great time to have a quick shower and prepare for school.

Moving through the house she went into the bathroom and turned the shower on, taking he sleeping gear off which had consisted of pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt she climbed into the steaming hot shower. As the boiling rain landed on her soft skin she could feel as the sleepiness almost washed off her form leaving her more alert and awake. As the soap and suds washed from her body after washing her hair she stepped out of her shower, the steam still lay in the air and wafted around the smaller bathroom than her own as she dried herself with her towel. After she had dried herself she picked up her clothes that she had placed on the closed lid of the toilet and began dressing herself. Once in her school attire she looked at herself in the mirror. She found that it was all steamed up just like the last time, fear completely overtook her as she replayed the events of what had happened the last time. She had seen an image of Ichigo when he had fallen into his hollow form and it had threatened her with death, maybe it was the heat in the room or her own mind but it had scared her deeply.

Mounting up the courage that she had hidden deep within herself she slowly rubbed away the steam on the mirror with her sleeve of her cardigan. As she done so she done it excruciatingly slowly so that she would not get quite the same scare that she had gotten the last time. From her hand touching the mirror her alter image in the mirror started to form in the revealed areas, however her alter image was not her own as she instantly realised, seeing that their was a tanned arm much more muscular than her own touching the mirror on the other side. Orihime cocked her head to the left in her confusion wondering why the image in the mirror was a bare muscular arm when her arm was covered by her cardigan. It did not take long to register for her though as she quickly recoiled her hand away from the mirror and held onto it gently as if she had been burnt.

"Why did you stop? Do you not want to see my face again?" came a horrifyingly familiar voice to Orihime's ears, she looked at the mirror with a horrible fear beginning to knot itself within her stomach. She lowered herself down so that she could see in the small bit of the mirror she had already relieved of the steam. As she done so she could see the reflected image of not herself but a well chiselled chest and then as her face reached the clear area she could see the face of Ichigo.

"Hey, Inoue-san" Ichigo said to her as she jumped back in the sudden fright she received. She quickly rubbed away the rest of the condensation on the mirror to reveal Ichigo in his current form in Hueco Mundo.

"But how is this possible?" Orihime asked with her hand covering her mouth, making it rather hard to hear what she had said.

"Technically it isn't, I am not the Ichigo you wish that I was I am sorry to say my dear" Ichigo told Orihime as she finally noticed the yellow eyes that could only mean that he was still hollowfied. Even so he had a much more friendly face than she had ever seen him wear besides his usual scowl that seemed etched onto his face.

"I can assure you that Ichigo is back to normal and remembers everything, about you and everyone he used to know. However his appearance is different than what you remember of him.

"Why are you talking in the third person?" Orihime asked him confused

"I am not Ichigo, I am but a part of him who is here to tell you that he is back to normal and that you shall see him again, very soon" Ichigo told her as Orihime's eyes widened in fear, if he was coming back that would only mean that he was coming back to fulfil what he said he would - kill her.

"Your mind really is coming to the worst case scenario my dear, this man loves you and deeply regrets what he had said to you, in fact he has thought of his regret non-stop since regaining his memories" Ichigo told Orihime noticing that her eyes almost glazed over in guilt of what she had been told, this was not what Ichigo had intended happen when he noticed her head dropping and her grabbing onto her arm.

"Inoue-san I ask only that you understand Ichigo will return one day and when he does, please do not fear him, I think it will destroy him. He will be back to normal when you next see him, on that note I think he is getting ready to move so I cannot hang around her for long, don't forget what I have said and be prepared for his return" Ichigo said as his image began to distort into Orihime's form again.

Orihime was faced with her face again as it showed her complete and utter bemusement at what had just transpired. Ichigo had been there, plain as day to her but he had looked so much more different than the last time she had seen his human face, it was much more hardened as if it was a much denser material. His body had those strange black tribal tattoo's over his body just like the way they had been when he had turned into a hollow. What had surprised her the most however was the area where Ichigo's hollow hole had been, it was in stead replaced by what looked like a sort of crystal like substance. How much had Ichigo changed, even worse he was coming back here again probably with the intent to kill her.

"I can't be a burden to everyone, I have to get stronger to defend myself!" Orihime declared to herself before she walked out of the bathroom into her new room, picked up her school bag and headed downstairs ready to face the school day ahead of her.

_**Hueco Mundo**_

* * *

The sand along the ground passed by his eyes in a dazzle of glittering flashes as they reflected the moon's illumination. His speed surprised even him, in all his time using the Sonido that Yoruichi had taught him he had never moved at a pace anything like this, it was even faster than his Bankai altered speed also as he could basically take large distances in leaps and bounds that seemed small but were in actual fact much larger. He could feel the presence of other beings behind him and looking over his shoulder slightly he caught a glimpse of the forms of the Arrancar he had just left.

He slowed down in order to allow them a chance to catch up, as they done so he could see the surprised and amazed look on both Zakabe's and the other Arrancar's faces. They could just not believe that he was moving at such a speed, they were moving at the complete limits of their Sonido capabilities and even Zakabe's higher than average level was struggling to keep up with Ichigo. They were almost at the palace of Las Noches after all, the white walls were staring over at them as they approached quicker than any of the Arrancar really wanted to.

Ichigo stopped abruptly and caused the other Arrancar to completely overshoot him as they could not quite slow down after such high speeds quite as quickly. As they made their way back to Ichigo they could see that he was focused on the nearest wall of the fortress walls and not even paying attentiont to them as they approached him.

"What are you looking at?" Zakabe asked Ichigo with a serious amount of interest in his voice.

"Trying to find a weak point in the walls defences, that's how we got in last time by breaking through the wall basically, we managed to manoeuvre quite well undetected, at least for a while" Ichigo answered Zakabe with a smile almost as if he had enjoyed the events that had transpired in Hueco Mundo the last time.

"So we are going to make our entry into Las Noches through the outer wall?" one of the female Arrancar following Zakabe asked incredulously.

"Yes" was the plain answer Ichigo gave her as he turned to her with a look of 'I dare you to say something against that' the Arrancar brought her hands up to her face quickly cowering in fear from the deathly look she received from Ichigo.

"Then what shall we do Ichigo-Sama?" Zakabe asked completely taking Ichigo by surprise by the use of lord in his name.

"First of all just call me Ichigo please and from there we shall stick together before we reach this Volak, I fight him leave him near death then you finish him off ok? You get to kill that man and I get to save both Kyota and Sachi" Ichigo explained as he turned to Zakabe who had smiled slightly at being told to call Ichigo by his given name.

"Very well, that works out fine for me, Ichigo" Zakabe answered as he turned to his subordinates and received understanding nods from them all before he turned back in time for Ichigo to take off and follow him.

_If what they say is right you may have to face the denizens of hell, are you prepared for that Ichigo?_ the voice asked him sounding almost unsure of itself, which it had never done before and even in it's genderless tone it was easy to pick out.

'I don't care, they mean too much for me to give them up so easily, I already said that I would not allow anything to stand in my way of those I care about' Ichigo answered the voice with his determination already dead set with very little chance of changing.

_I wonder will it be the same for Inoue-san?_ the voice asked him honestly without any hint of sarcasm to be detected, although with that genderless voice how could he really tell?

'I doubt I will ever be able to see her again to be entirely honest, I think I'm doomed to an existence here in Hueco Mundo' Ichigo answered the voice with a less than happy answer, he thought about that before, of course he had, he did want to go back and see her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her so much more deeply than he had anyone else in his life, but how could he after those things he had said?

_Do not count your chickens until they have hatched Ichigo, think about that for a while, you are not a hollow any longer so what would really be stopping you?_ the voice asked him and with that Ichigo had to admit that it did have a good point but his mind was made up for now.

'I have to fight many creatures right now to save two very important little girls to me, I cant let my mind drift to things that I want over things that are clearly important, such as surviving for those girls, I owe them that at least' Ichigo told the voice, and although he knew the voice did want to argue back he knew it saw his mind process and that it must have seen the sense of what he was doing.

_So you don't want any distractions? I see you have indeed became much more intelligent since you have regained you memories but also ever since I was forced to fight against you._ the voice talked quietly to itself as Ichigo continued onwards slowing down slightly as the walls of Las Noches loomed into view above him.

Ichigo landed in front of the large walls and looked up at the sheer height of them, he felt they were slightly smaller than they used to be, maybe due to his height increasing in the latest year. He could hear as the other Arrancar landed on the ground behind him.

"Be ready to face anything, if you are not with me then now is the time to voice your opposition to what we are about to do" Ichigo told all of them. Ichigo turned fully to them and looked at all of the Arrancar before him, he had never taken the time to notice anything at all about them but now as they were about to invade a palace he thought it better to know at least who was on his side.

There were two male Arrancar and two female, nice to know that finally the gender issue had been better addressed within Hueco Mundo. One of the males had red medium length hair, red eyes and wore the regular Arrancar clothing, the other male had no hair at all and little tiny black pupils as his eyes. The two females looked almost identical to each other in their looks, both had long blue hair and green eyes, they both wore a full bodysuit of clothes that seemed to hug their figure, revealing just a little too much for Ichigo to feel comfortable. He noticed that none of the male Arrancar batted an eyelid to this, as if they were not interested or were used to it by now, he knew now why there were more female Arrancar. Ichigo was definitely going to hurt that damned Arrancar, he took those two girls from him and he treats women without any amounts of respect.

"We are with Zakabe-Sama until the end, and by proxy that means you too, Ichigo" the bald headed Arrancar told Ichigo using his first name to which Ichigo smiled slightly since the Arrancar was using it in such a way.

"Good I will go in first, keep your distance from me please, I do not know my power yet and as such I do not want to hurt any of you" Ichigo told them as he turned back to the wall.

"How far behind would you like us to be Ichigo?" Zakabe asked him as he began to feel his blood boil in anticipation.

"I don't know, wait a full minute before following me, alright?" Ichigo asked them all as he turned his attention fully to the wall again.

"Yes, sir" Zakabe answered as the Arrancar turned to him waiting for their orders "Well you heard him when he breaks through we are to wait a minute before we follow, got it?" Zakabe asked them all, receiving nods from all of the Arrancar assembled, they all stood back allowing Ichigo the space he needed for whatever he was going to do.

Ichigo contemplated what he would do with enough destructive force to take down the walls, he had already tried to find some sort of weakness but could find none and in stead decided he would depend on pure brute strength. Then came the next part of his current dilema, what could he do to create a large enough destructive force, enough to break down the wall? He didn't have Zangetsu anymore so he could not use Getsuga Tenshou like he had done before. What the hell could he do that would have enough of that destructive force that he wanted? Whenever he applied spiritual pressure into his fist with the help of the discs up his forearm he could create a large amount of destructive force but he had already guessed that that would take a few tries and he was really not wanting to take too long, the girls had already been separated from him for at least two hours and time was slowly running away.

He tried to think of pure destructive power when he thought of something that should have come straight to mind since he had spend the last year with the ability to do such an attack and basically annihilate anything that it hit. He pointed both his index and middle finger on his right hand towards the wall in front of him, with that motion all of the Arrancar instantly knew of his intention and afraid of what power he may have leapt backwards leaving on Zakabe to stand a few feet away from Ichigo as the spiritual pressure began to build up at the tip of his fingers and take physical form.

Screeching noise could be hard as there was a white light that began to form at the tip of Ichigo's fingertips, arcs of lightning began to course over the ball of energy that began to increase in size. Zakabe could only stand there in awe as he was shown the true power of Ichigo, he had known that the former Espada had at least two Cero that they could use, the Gran Ray Cero and the Cero Oscuras. Both were extremely potent Cero's and were both prohibited for use within the dome of Las Noches. This one seemed to be on a whole different power level than the other Cero's had been though, although by this point there was very little about Ichigo that surprised Zakabe,the man just seemed to be a book full of nothing but questions without many answers.

Ichigo could feel the pure extend of power that was flowing into his fingertips and was almost completely overwhelmed with glee when he could feel the amount of power he could hold. This cero was going to do far more than just break a hole into the wall that they could just simply walk through, the damn things was going to probably break right through the wall and much of whatever was behind it. He roared out in his last attempt to hold the Cero any longer and released the screeching Cero towards the wall of Las Noches, the stream of pure spiritual energy collided with the wall of Las Noches and passed clear through it almost causing no explosion at all , except after a few moments it done just that as the tail end of the Cero entered the hole that the head end had created.

The explosion was huge, it caused both Zakabe and Ichigo to shield their eyes with their arms as they were forcible moved backwards by the sheer force of the winds acting on their bodies in the after effects of the blast. When the blast had finally died down as well as the screeching sound of Ichigo's white Cero both were able to finally look at the devastation Ichigo had been able to create. The whole area of wall that they were in front of was completely gone and the blast had penetrated deep enough to let them even see the inside of the dome which showed perpetual day as compared to Hueco Mundo deserts perpetual night. Zakabe knew that there were at least four layers of wall that blast would have had to go through to make that much damage, just how strong was Ichigo?

Ichigo wasted no time and began to run inside of the gap he had created in the wall, jumping over rubble and anything that got in his way at all, his retreating figure had Zakabe lost in thought at just how powerful he was, he could not possibly be that strong could he? It went against everything any hollow had ever managed to do before and he had managed to basically take the book rip it up and rewrite it his own way according to how he liked it.

Zakabe quickly followed after Ichigo without remembering what Ichigo had previously asked him to do, with waiting behind an extra minute completely lost to Zakabe's mind and his interest at an all time high, he just wanted to see was all. He could already feel the power of Arrancar as they closed in on Ichigo's position, yet Zakabe could see no sign of fright or fear in Ichigo's form, in fact he seemed to get bigger in anticipation and went on further even quicker than he had been doing. Zakabe could feel the familiar pressure as they drew nearer and he could only be stunned silent at what he felt, the current level 6 Espada was speeding towards Ichigo's position, that was not good at all, he was not the strongest Espada of course because of his dictated number but his temper and attitude were something far more fierce, that coupled with the fact he refused to be beaten pretty much did put him on a level that would surprise even Ichigo.

Ichigo charged on forwards he could feel the strength of the spiritual pressure and after the exhileration of using that overly potent Cero he had began to look forward to any and all fights he may encounter in this large fortress. It was as if after using that technigue he had uncaged some beast within his phsyce that had been desperately trying to escape for so long, he wanted nothing more to fight and to win and the stronger the opponent the better. Gone were his plans of saving both of the girls, of ever seeing Orihime again, of ever seeing anyone he cared about again. He had lost himself to his instincts and to be honest it felt good.

A creature began to appear in his path, with a large red body it stood at least 7 feet tall and was only really covered by a small loincloth. It had a much more beastlike face that looked like a cross between a bear and a human and on top of it's head were large horns much like that of a ram's. once it saw Ichigo it turned to him and Ichigo could see nothing but the fires of hell burning in it's eyes. It raised it's large sword from it's lower place and readied itself to attack Ichigo, Ichigo as ready to fight anything as he had ever been before materialized his own crystalline Zanpaktou from nowhere and as the searing heat vulcanized it he grabbed onto the handle.

Ichigo swooped down to the creature before him and took a swipe at the creature intent to completely dislodge the head from the shoulders. His blade was stopped though, not just stopped but also repelled right back at him. He had watched as the blade of the creature had stopped his own and without any hint of a crack or creak on it's blade had so effortlessly pushed his Zanpaktou back and caused him to slide a few feet. Ichigo could not believe it, his Zanpaktou was supposed to be like a diamond, why the hell was this creature able to stop his blade so easily? Ichigo looked again at the eyes of the creature only to see now that it's eyes were actually flames themselves, without any trace of hesitation the creature charged at him with it's blade raised high ready to smite down Ichigo.

Ichigo raised his own Zanpaktou in time in order to stop the attack of the creature, actually by now with it's appearance Ichigo had decided that demon sounded so much more adept at describing it. As both weapons clashed the sheer sound of clashing blades caused a huge sound wave to erupt from their blades. Ichigo cried out in the pain of what he had heard and with a flash he had seen unending corridors of flames that extended out in all directions and in the centre of every corridor was the same thing. Sitting atop a throne of Brimstone and flames licking off it's body as red as blood, Ichigo stared at the larger version of what he was fighting for the few seconds that he was there and that was when he felt fear, truly and deeply.

As Ichigo returned to reality he noticed that the creature was still in the same position as it had been previously, its hot breath was hitting Ichigo's face and had it not been for the fact that it's breath smelled horrible Ichigo might have moved quicker when he felt a fist drive right into his ribs. With his breath taken out of him momentarily he looked up at the laughing form of the demon that had placed both of its hand on the blade it used. As it brought it's blade down on Ichigo it dug right into Ichigo's back, with a grunt of pain Ichigo fell to his knees as he could not believe that after feeling such power of his cero and being so excited by it, he was being beaten here by one measly demon. That Arrancar was right he was going to die and that would mean that Sachi and Kyota would be left themselves.

He was lost within his thoughts as he still could not quite believe that he was so easily beaten after he had come this far. Faces new and old flashed by his face as his vision became blurred and he could see the ground rapidly approaching, before he finally met with the ground as his vision finally went blank.

Zakabe ran into the same area as Ichigo had, it was a corridor not too far from their entrance. With what he saw he was surprised to say the least, Ichigo la on the ground completely motionless. As Zakabe's eyes travelled upwards he could see the blade of something retracting out of the back of Ichigo. Once he saw the red form of the demon Zakabe did not require any more information on what had happened.

"I will take that man to Volak-Sama" Zakabe said to the demon as it turned to his voice and snarled causing some red smoke to escape from it's maw. Zakabe understood this to mean 'ok' in demon language or he thought it did at least.

Zakabe used Sonido and appeared right beside Ichigo's almost limp body, there was a slight rise as it was clear Ichigo was still breathing at the very least. Zakabe drew his Zanpaktou and dropped down quickly and at the same time dug the entire Zanpaktou into Ichigo's back.

"You will know unimaginable pain, human" Zakabe told Ichigo loud enough for the demon to hear and also his subordinates who had just recently came in to the same corridor as them. Once seeing their leader do such a move, they did not even question him and in stead began walking along the corridor as if nothing had happened.

Ichigo's breathing began to return and with that Zakabe lifted him onto his shoulders and began walking down the corridor towards Volak's throne room.

"Volak-Sama, I have a surprise for you!" Zakabe whispered to himself as an evil grin took place on his face, his spiritual pressure spiking slightly.

* * *

_Sorry for taking so long with this update but I just never really had the zest to do it until around about now=]. Sorry if the bit with Orihime was short but I didn't really want to talk about her much this chapter, I wanted to keep with the structure of my story however. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter like the last few anyways. Please R&R thank you! =] - Varrukh_

_Also to my regular reviewers_

_Dark Jason - I hope you enjoy this chapter like the last few my friend =]_

_Zanbandia - sorry if I did not delve enough into Orihime this chapter, ill make it up to ya =]_

_JammersFlood - thank you for becoming more regular and I hope you enjoy this chapter =]_

_Himelove22 - I hope that you will enjoy this chapter aswell my friend =]_

_Until next time however which I honestly don't when it will be to be honest, enjoy this chapter and I shall see you guys next time =] - Varrukh_


	9. Chapter 9 Reunion

Zakabe walked down the large white hallway towards the two huge doors at the end of the hallway. Reaching the doors he lifted his right foot and ploughed it forwards kicking open the two large doors into a huge central hall. As he made his dramatic entrance many different Arrancar heads turned to him, many had their hateful gazes while others had more respectful gazes towards Zakabe. No-one could deny however that all of the Arrancar realised his strength and superiority to all of them.

Zakabe hefted Ichigo higher onto his shoulder and walked into the massive hall, as he approached the massive throne at the end of the hall he was stopped by four Arrancar. They were all clad in the same clothes as the other Arrancar besides the fact that these clothes were all black, denoting them as Volak's closest guards. The one closest to him on his right lifted his hand and placed it on Zakabe's shoulder, forcibly stopping him from moving any further.

"What business do you have?" the Arrancar asked him without any trace of emotion or real care for the question.

"I have a gift for Volak-Sama" Zakabe said to him as he lifted Ichigo from his shoulder and dropped him to the floor with a loud thud. The Arrancar who had spoken looked up towards the large white throne where Volak sat, Volak nodded to the Arrancar, after which all of the Arrancar separated in order to allow Zakabe a way through to Volak.

Zakabe lifted Ichigo back onto his shoulder again, realising that lifting him up a second time was a pain in the arse, just how heavy was this man anyway? He walked over to the foot of Volak's throne and stood there waiting for instruction, this had to be done, either Volak would come down or the subject would have to go up to him. On this particular occasion Volak motioned with his hand for Zakabe to climb the stairs to his throne. Zakabe done so dutifully even if inside his mind he was complaining about how lazy Volak was being. His complaints were cut short as he reached the top of the stairs and gazed down on the scene before him.

In the seat of the throne was obviously Volak himself but there were two beings that stood to either side of him, one being one of the large red beasts that had brought Ichigo down, quite easily at that Zakabe had to add to himself. The other one was however what looked like the single most beautiful woman Zakabe had ever lay his eyes on, he was almost as beautiful as Sachi, although he'd never admit that to the blonde on fears of death. He might be the most feared and respected Arrancar in this room at the moment but she would probably be able to lay him out all across the room if she wanted to. This other being however was beautiful beyond compare, it was completely naked from the waist upwards, clearly uncaring about exposing their porcelain white skin to the open world. She had a short skirt type of clothing on her lower half. Zakabe noticed the two daggers that were attached to her skirt at either side and how the sheath seemed to be leaking a red liquid.

"What do you have there for me Zakabe?" Volak asked bringing Zakabe's attention away from the two beings on either side of him, Volak did not seem to notice as his own eyes were glued to the still form of Ichigo "You didn't kill him did you?" Volak asked almost afraid.

"No" Zakabe answered as he dropped Ichigo to Volak's feet and gave him a hard kick to Ichigo's ribs causing a scream of pain from Ichigo as the kick ricochet around his torso.

"Good good, now with him and the two girls my army can only grow stronger!" Volak said out loud as the other Arrancar in the hall shouted out in cheers at the positive news.

"How do you know that he will follow you, or those two women for that matter?" Zakabe asked Volak raising his eyebrow.

"Oh I will torture those two girls until they are entirely devotional to me, and I shall do the same to him if I have to" Volak told Zakabe as a maniacal grin broke out on his face.

"You know sir" Zakabe began as he began to formulate a plan, " this thing before us is not a hollow or an Arrancar, he is a human and an exceedingly powerful one at that" Zakabe began, he noticed how Volak became rather heavily interested as he looked at Ichigo's prone form lying on the floor in pain. "You do not need those girls any longer, they are only a hindrance and they will only ever run away again, why not kill them and just keep this human in your army" Zakabe continued as Volak looked up at him questioningly.

"And why would I do that when those two girls are exceedingly powerful together?" Volak asked his own eyebrow raising at his question towards Zakabe.

"They have to be together to be effective in any way sir, he only has to be himself to destroy things far more powerful than he should be able to" Zakabe answered him noticing how Volak's eyebrow somehow managed to rise oven further. "He was able to defeat me sir" Zakabe finally explained and at this Volak almost fell out of his chair. Every Arrancar in the room and even the two at Volak's side could only stare at Zakabe in disbelief. 'The Demon Lord of Hueco Mundo' had been beaten? Even Volak had come to refer to him as that, some of his exploits had been nothing more than demonic. Ever since that day he had seen how Zakabe lost himself in that fight against those four Arrancar Volak had no doubt that Zakabe was strong and afterwards as he had went insane destroying his other Arrancar Volak would not doubt Zakabe's strength ever. Zakabe's smile grew larger as he could feel the monstrous rise in spiritual pressure at his feet.

Ichigo could hear the words playing over in his head as he lay there completely motionless but still able to hear what is being said and feel sensations, such as the kick to the ribs he had felt earlier. He could hear Zakabe as he talked to another Arrancar, unable to see them he had to go by what he could hear and from that was able to digress that the other Arrancar was in fact the Volak that Zakabe had so strongly wanted to kill, yet he was here talking to him so calmly. Not to mention the fact that he had basically betrayed Ichigo, now that he thought about it Ichigo could not believe how easily he had been lead by that Arrancar.

_You were not so easily lead remember, I showed you his heart's true desire_ the voice from his head called out as Ichigo continued to ponder.

'then why has he so easily betrayed me?' Ichigo asked the voice as both of the Arrancar talked about an army getting stronger.

_I can tell you why but it would defeat the purpose of you understanding the tactical minds of one of your closest allies_ the voice finished as the went silent within Ichigo's head.

"I will just torture them until they are entirely devotional to me" Volak told Zakabe as they discussed the girls.

Ichigo felt his anger seeping into every pore of his body, the conversation continued on as everyone in the room were completely unaware of the being that lay on the ground prepared to unleash everything in the flash of a light. He could feel his anger getting the better of him and he could feel a great power growing from his heart outwards, it reached all across his body and eventually reached the area of the previous stab wound from Zakabe. The power continued to grow forcing out some type of spiritual pressure from his back and at the same time seeping into all areas of his body. He could feel every muscle on his body as they were rejuvenated with the power.

Ichigo could hear as silence permeated the room as he began to get back onto his feet. As he stood up he kept his face down in order to hide the smile on his face that was threatening to become a malicious grin soon enough. He could feel the spiritual pressure's within the room rising significantly and could tell just by the feel of them that this was not an effort to show their power, this was an effort to preserve their own lives. Ichigo finally lifted his head and swept his longer orange hair to the side revealing his hollowfied eyes to the Arrancar in front of him. He looked at the scared expression of the Arrancar as he stood up again, he also noticed the relaxed expression of Zakabe at the same time.

Ichigo was not able to move an inch before he felt four different Zanpaktou digging right into his body, at least three of them stabbing through the areas of his stomach that they could and the other one right through his right bicep, probably realising that with a crystallite looking substance on his chest then a Zanpaktou would not pass through it. All of the Arrancar were around him in diagonal positions with all of them at least in front of or behind each of his shoulders. He felt the pain as the entered his body but did not feel much pain as they stayed there.

With a loud sigh Ichigo reached out with both of his fists to the Arrancar in front of him, grabbing their faces he lifted them up into the air and threw them backwards a fair distance before they crashed into the wall right at the other side of the hall, which was a huge distance in actual fact. Before they were able to hit the back wall however Ichigo had reached behind him grabbing the faces of the Arrancar behind him and lifting them into the air brought his arms over his head and smashed them into the ground. Hearing the audible cracks told him that he had been able to break some bones at the very least. He released the heads of the broken Arrancar and turned back around to the four who had been standing over him not a few seconds ago. Zakabe was still relaxed as he was before, Volak looked at him with a certain amount of fear, the red demon looked at him with hunger in it's eyes, the hunger for battle and the half naked female thing looked at him with hunger also but this was not average hunger, she wanted him, she wanted that power.

"You, just what are you?" the red demon asked him as it raised its sword in anticipation.

"Human, why?" Ichigo asked as he created his Zanpaktou from the particles in the air, as they all collected it went through the normal vulcanisation.

"You are strong, human, stronger than any other human I've met anyway" the demon told him as the hunger in it's eyes seemed to grow ever more as it continued to look at Ichigo.

"That is probably because any human you've ever met was defenceless and unable to stop you at all" Ichigo answered with obvious disgust in his voice.

"I can't help what's in my nature human, my creator made me the way I am, I cant question him why he did it because he is absolute" the demon answered him with a flame igniting along the length of it's blade.

"What are you?" Ichigo asked the red demon as it raised it's sword higher into the air and it's body seemed to grow even larger.

"I am a demon of hell I guess you could say, my name is Zurak! And I am your death!" Zurak shouted at Ichigo as he ran forwards and swung his sword in a downwards action.

* * *

Zakabe had been completely amazed by what the demon had said, that could not be possible, how could it be? His friend was never a monster and neither was he they both loved their fighting yes but they were not monsters like this thing. It hungered for battle where they only enjoyed themselves in it. Zakabe watched on in almost desperate hope that it was not Zakabe who was fighting Ichigo, they were both too important to him for him to lose either of them. Zurak was his brother basically, but Ichigo was needed to get rid of Volak and finally bring an end to the tyranny that the Arrancar had been living under. Zurak brought his sword down towards Ichigo's head only to be blocked by the diamond blade, as they stood in that position it was clear to see that neither was going to give up, Zurak through his hunger and Ichigo through, well there was nothing obvious in his expression. Zakabe could feel the spiritual pressure and from that could tell exactly what was going on, he was enjoying himself.

Zakabe had not met anyone like that ever since Zurak they had both loved fighting, whether it be alongside each other or even against each other it had gone in leaps and bounds to make them as strong as they were. Yet when Zurak had died Zakabe lost his love for fighting, what was the point of loving it by yourself anyway? When you had no-one to share it with, just where was the joy in that? Ichigo pushed upwards and caused Zurak to stumble backwards, in the momentary displacement Ichigo quickly drew his Zanpaktou across the exposed chest of Zurak and managed to draw blood from the ample amount of chest before him. The hit did not seem to do anything but make the demon before him grow a slight bit larger, Ichigo gave out an aggravated sight as he slashed his Zanpaktou at the same area again to find out if it was his attack that was the cause, his attack was however stopped by Zurak's sword. As they began yet an other power struggle the two Arrancar that had been thrown the length of the hall suddenly appeared behind Ichigo and grabbing their Zanpaktou which were still embedded within his stomach tried to release them from Ichigo's body.

As they done so they noticed that their Zanpaktou were not moving at all, Ichigo noticed the sudden movement of the Arrancar and noticed they were standing in a very stupid place, right in front of him, where right above them a rather large red demon with an equally large sword was forcing downwards with a huge amount of strength. Ichigo inwardly shrugged and vanished from view. The two Arrancar found their Zanpaktou in their hands again and as the other two fell to the ground the Arrancar were only just able to hear it before the full weight of that sword above them fell down like a ton of bricks. One of the Arrancar was able to escape the blow, however his unfortunate comrade was cleaved in two right down the centre of his body. Zurak did not even care that he had just cut through one of the many Arrancar within the hall, he knew they wouldn't attack him anyway.

Ichigo reappeared above the surviving Arrancar and drove his Zanpaktou through it's chest hard. Raising the Arrancar on his Zanpaktou Ichigo brought it up to face level and looked it right in the eye.

"You should have stayed down Arrancar" Ichigo told it as he raised his left hand and within his opened fingers a red cero began to form. "You shall not become a thorn in my side this way" Ichigo told it as he released the cero and it completely tore through the Arrancar and destroyed a pillar and wall that were within it's path. With the wall blown open the cold air from the desert of Hueco Mundo was able to enter as could the perpetual night. Ichigo threw the Arrancar off his blade in the direction of the hole in the wall and was only able to register the movement behind him because of the slightest move in the wind behind him, alerting him to the presence behind him. Raising his Zanpaktou up hard he was able to stop the flaming sword as it came crashing down on his head again. The red flames that coated the sword licked at his face with it's heat and caused Ichigo to look at the demon with surprise, because within those eyes was no longer just hunger, but anger and rage.

"Don't get cocky thinking that you were able to escape me!" the demon roared as it yet again grew in size, by now standing at least ten feet tall, good thing that they were in this large hall, otherwise he would really have some problems fighting. That was when it hit Ichigo, the way he could win, he just had to be able to lure him into a more cramped area.

Ichigo jumped backwards allowing the large flaming sword of Zurak to fall to the ground causing a large crater in it's place, as the dust was kicked up Ichigo momentarily lost sight of Zurak only to get a face full of him as Zurak appeared again from the smoke, or his fist at least. It collided with Ichigo's face with a huge amount of force causing him to be shot right back out into the hallway before the entrance to the massive hall.

'Good he done my job for me' Ichigo thought to himself as he could see Zurak charging towards him, leaning slightly forwards and roaring like his hatred knew no bounds.

_You cannot kill him Ichigo _the voice from within his head told him without any hint of lying.

'A little faith would be appreciated, thanks' Ichigo complained to the voice within his head.

_First of all he is a denizen of Hell and therefore on a completely different league than any Shinigami or hollow you have ever fought, however the more pressing issue is that it is indeed Zurak who you are fighting_ the voice explained leaving the last part for it to sink in to Ichigo, it didn't have the desired effect.

'So? Why should I care what his name is? He is from Hell and is a threat to my goal' Ichigo answered the point clearly not hitting home yet.

_Idiot that is the Zurak that Zakabe was almost brothers with! You cannot kill this creature because he will then go on to kill you!_ the voice shouted at him for the first time almost losing it's usual calm composure.

'Zakabe betrayed me anyway, why should I care about him?' Ichigo asked a little surprised at the venom he had received from the voice within his head.

_You really are poor at your perception abilities, he done that so he could get you closer to Volak, he said what he did in order to get you to release your full power and attack and kill Volak, and before you say he did not know about either of those demons but once he had you there he could not stop with his plan_ the voice explained to him going back to its genderless and emotionless voice.

'So he used me? That really does not make it any better for him you know?' Ichigo told the voice within his head as he realised that Zurak was much closer than he had originally thought.

_And what do you call what you do with me? Is that using me? You are using my power therefore using me, you humans take these emotions to whole new extremes in the wrong cases_ the voice finished as it could tell that it's point had at least sunk in with Ichigo.

'Fine, then what do you suppose I do with him?' Ichigo asked the voice within his head.

_That I'm afraid to say I cant help you with, he is a spawn of Hell and I cant quite clearly tell what his heart's true desire is because he has no use for one_ the voice answered Ichigo as Zurak finally reached Ichigo and their swords clashed yet again making a resounding clang in the hallway.

'This is unbelievable, just how strong is this thing?' Ichigo groaned under the brute strength of the demon who pushed down on him.

_It is rather strong I must admit even with the application of my power you seem to be having some problems, I guess that's my fault I'm only really supplying you with about fifty percent of my power just now_ the voice finally admitted as Ichigo's face went completely blank on his actual face.

'This is me at only fifty percent?' Ichigo asked completely awestruck at how powerful he could become, he knew he was powerful just now but even more power added on top of that, it was a bit overkill was it not?

_Trust me there will come a time when you will need all of that power, but now is not it_ the voice told him as he thought about it.

'Why not?' Ichigo asked almost disappointed.

_I have figured out how we can stop this fight with one swift movement but we, well you will have to be crafty_ the voice told him as on his actual face a smile began to grow, just waiting for the difficulty of this craftiness to be revealed.

'So what is your plan?' Ichigo asked almost dreading the answer.

_Quite simple actually, find a way to keep Zurak stuck for long enough in order to allow yourself the chance to fight Volak one on one and show the other Arrancar within the hall your strength, before obviously killing him_ the voice finished off so simply it completely shocked Ichigo.

'Well here goes, I guess' Ichigo concluded with the voice in his mind as he prepared to find a way in order to get this brute of a demon stuck in one place long enough to have his duel with Volak.

With a large sweeping motion Zurak brought his sword around just at head height of Ichigo, Ichigo brought up his Zanpaktou only just in time to block the hit. He was not met without any detrimental actions as he was literally thrown back into the huge hall by the pure force used by the demon he fought. He was unable to stop his motion as he went on to crash right into the stairs that lead up to the throne and was embedded within the white marble. The demon stood over him as he was completely stuck within the marble, it moved its sword pointing it downwards pointing right at Ichigo's body. With little or no care at all the demon looked up to his master, requesting permission to kill Ichigo with nothing but a silent glare. His eyes had lost their hunger and Ichigo knew that the demon called Zurak considered this a victory for him.

Upon his high throne Volak nodded at Zurak and sealed Ichigo's fate for him. Zurak brought his sword down to meet with Ichigo's body at a slower than expected rate, and before it could touch Ichigo was completely stopped by nothing at all. What no-one could deny was the heavy and oppressing spiritual pressure that had enveloped the room now. From atop the throne alongside Volak a huge swirling mass of black spiritual pressure was collecting and had took on the visage of a skull with it's maw opened in anticipation. The spiritual pressure jumped and in a swooping movement had appeared right next to Zurak and with a completely black covered fist, blasted his fist right into Zurak's demonic face, causing him to be thrown across the hall for once. Ichigo could see nothing through the swirling mass of spiritual pressure as it was completely and utterly concealing the body that it radiated from.

As the demon picked itself up from the rubble of the wall it had been thrown into a demonic laugh began to echo throughout the hall that only seemed to grow larger as time went on and eventually caused the entire room to shake from the force of the laughter.

"Zakabe? Is that you Zakabe?" Zurak laughed in his demonically loud voice.

"Yes Zurak, it's me" Zakabe answered back as his face was revealed in the swirling maelstrom of his own spiritual pressure.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You're almost like a lovesick puppy Zakabe, you're nothing like you used to be!" Zurak yelled at him his voice causing more shaking in the room. Zakabe's face dropped slightly and Ichigo could in fact see that Zakabe looked like he was happy, truly happy. Zurak's laughter permeated the entire hall as Zakabe's face fell from his smile to a hurt look that Ichigo did not think he'd ever see. Truth be told he thought he had made allies with a reincarnation of Ulquiorra.

"After your death, how could I be anything like I used to be without you there at my side?" Zakabe asked his voice showing just how true his pain was after experiencing that event.

"You should have fought on Zakabe! You should have become the ruler of this world! You have the power to do so and you know it! Yet you cower behind this excuse for an Arrancar?" Zurak roared at him as Zakabe's face changed to hurt the more and more he listened. "You're actions have made me come to a realisation Zakabe" Zurak began as Zakabe looked up at him, his already hurt expression looking like it could take no more.

"Your actions have shown me that you were never worth my love, brother" Zurak finished.

Ichigo looked to the face of Zakabe and for the first time in his known existence Ichigo saw an Arrancar, fully grown Arrancar male, cry. Zakabe's tears streaked down his face as he fought back the sobs from what Zurak had just said to him, his actions had caused Zurak to stop loving him as a brother? How could he do that? After all they had been through together? After all the times they had agreed they would prefer nothing more than to fight forever at each other's sides. Zakabe just could not accept it that Zurak was now telling him that he no longer loved him, that hurt, it more than hurt, it mentally destroyed Zakabe.

Ichigo could feel it as Zakabe's spiritual pressure turned from sheer power and began to dissipate in his distraught state, the black spiritual pressure that had completely surrounded him began to lose all of it's strength as it started to simply lose itself into the surrounding area of atmosphere. As the tears continued to stream off of Zakabe's face and fall to the ground below Ichigo watched as Zakabe's muscles on his arms tightened, alongside his entire body.

"NO! I WILL PROVE TO YOU THAT I AM NOT WEAK! ZURAAAAAK!" Zakabe roared at his best friend as his spiritual pressure retained it's original power with even more zest behind it. The skeletal head did not form over his head however as the spiritual pressure however just seemed to cling to his body, acting as a black fire against his body. His body changed colour as it turned from a beige colour to a very burnt looking colour, like burning embers, his scars turned completely black also as they underwent the same process. His sapphire eyes were the only thing that did not change alongside his clothes, even if the clothes did begin to show the effects of burning on the ends of cloth. His eyes however were the only light amongst an entire body of darkness.

The most dramatic change was still to take effect however as Zakabe's face began to have some white material form on his face, leaking from his eyes originally but eventually coming from his mouth and nostrils too. As Zakabe roared out in his fury a white mask began to form on his face. It took the form of what looked like the complete copy of Ichigo's full powered hollow mask, even the patterns and marks all over it were the same, except for the fact that the markings were a dark green against an entirely black mask. Zakabe roared out in his fury, as did his mask alongside him. The spiritual pressure he gave off from simply roaring like that was almost too much for all Arrancar to bear as they were forced to the ground, no their knees but the ground. Zakabe flashed right next to Zurak catching the demon by surprised and kicked him right in the left side of the maw. Zurak twisted with the attack and pivoting on his left foot came back around to try and catch Zakabe. Zakabe was much quicker and in the time Zurak had taken to twist around he had already began to charge a surprisingly large cero In a short amount of time. The dark green with hints of black within Cero charged out from his outstretched hand with a large zoom as a pillar of light was basically created right where the head of the demon had once been.

As the Cero dissipated the headless body of Zurak was revealed to everyone as it fell to the ground on it's knees before keeling over completely. Zakabe's pained cries resounded within the halls as the large red beast slowly disintegrated into it's individual particles and floated out into the air. The cries continued on for a few moments before Zakabe's head span right around to where Volak sat. his loud growl told everyone in the room his intention. Ichigo had by now been able to lift himself out of the marble staircase and could see the look Zakabe was giving Volak, in short if looks could kill, that one would do it and bring you back to kill you again many many times. Ichigo looked up to where Volak should have been only to find that he was gone and upon looking at Zakabe again found him engaged in battle with Volak already.

Both had drawn their respective Zanpaktou and even thought Zakabe looked like he was losing it was all too clear to Ichigo that he was not even trying.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" Volak asked Zakabe as he clashed swords with Zakabe yet again causing a large clang within the room.

"I showed Zurak that I am not weak, and now I will show you that I can easily kill you!" yelled Zakabe as he pushed Volak back and raised his hand gathering his black cero within his hand he quickly released it while at the same time, Volak had mirrored his every move and done the exact same thing and returned a violent red cero right back at Zakabe. As both Cero met in the centre of the hall a huge explosion for dominance happened, which resulted with no clear winner for a long time before it appeared like Zakabe's cero was beginning to gain dominance.

"You are strong I will admit" Volak grunted under the strain of retaining the constant cero, his spiritual pressure was not quite on par with Zakabe's even if he was higher than that damn Arrancar.

"I will kill you Volak-Sama, I promised Zurak that I would!" Zakabe yelled through the maelstrom of power that was between them. "You took my brother away from me! Now I will kill you!" Zakabe roared as his cero grew to whole new proportions and engulfed Volak's cero. The ensuing explosion caused much of the entire hall to be completely destroyed causing most of the supporting pillars to be destroyed and the roof to eventually come crumbling down.

* * *

_**Human World**_

Orihime walked into her school, the good old Karakura high school, where she still had at the very least one last year before she had to go out into the big bad world. Orihime walked in through the main gates of the school and quickly found all of her usual friends standing together near the gates. Tatsuki, Chad, Ishida, Rukia, Renji and… wait was that Matsumoto? Orihime looked completely dumbstruck at Matsumoto as she stood in the school's courtyard with the entire school uniform on. Obviously grossly out of size for a woman of her bust but, the look on her face told she didn't care what anyone thought, the slight glances she made in Chad's direction at random intervals however, told otherwise.

"Hello everyone, and hello Matsumoto!" Orihime called out happily as she received warm smiles from all of her friends who were finally able to see her out of her bed and feeling well again.

"Why did you single me out?" Matsumoto asked putting on a fake pout as she tried to act hurt. Orihime giggled and walked up to Matsumoto and gave her a great hug, they were lucky Kiego was not there at that point because, well we know how he gets.

"That's because I wasn't expecting you here, and because you feel like close family!" Orihime beamed as she looked up to the warm smile that Matsumoto now had on her face looking down at Orihime's.

"alright, that's a good enough answer then" Matsumoto replied before letting go of Orihime.

As they all turned to walk into the school Orihime noticed how all of her friends did not leave her side at all, they did not move off into wider spaces from her, wherever she turned they would also turn. They walked like that for a small distance before they finally walked into their classroom and took their normal seats.

"Ah Ms Inoue-san, how nice of you to join us" their teacher called out as Orihime looked up to her and responded simply with a large smile.

"Now, we shall continue this lesson by going over Feudal Japan" the teacher told them all as sighs of disgust or exasperation rung out within the room. Orihime simply smiled to herself as she sunk into her chair, Feudal Japan was easy, she knew it all, she could definitely relax and rest this class.

The school day was a generally fast one in comparison to the other ones she had had in the past. What she had enjoyed though was when the teachers had all asked her questions expecting her to be clueless and for her to prove them wrong. Isshin had made sure that she was up to date on all of the things she had missed out on and Tatsuki had brought her home the things they were doing every day. So to be honest Orihime almost never lost a day of school to be entirely honest. The group all walked out of the building into the brilliant shining light of the mid-summer sun and simply basked in it's heat. Renji let out a sigh as he removed the headband from his head and let his hair fall out and lay across his shoulders. Chad unbuttoned all of the buttons on his shirt, causing Matsumoto to almost faint from blushing only to realise that underneath his shirt was a thin black shirt, Matsumoto almost found herself pouting in disappointment. Orihime noticed the look that Matsumoto had given the gentle giant and had to stop herself from laughing, Renji noticed Orihime's attempts at trying to hold in her laughter and was about to say something before noticing the piercing glare sent his way by said woman.

Needless to say Renji reduced in height slightly after seeing such a scary look. He looked to his left where Rukia was walking alongside him with a content look upon her face, but he could also see at the same time she was spacing out. He reached his hand out to take hers, as soon as his fingertips touched her hand she retracted it back quickly and looked up at Renji in mild surprise before she came to realise who it was and placed her hand within his.

"What was that all about?" Renji asked somewhat concerned.

"Nothing" Rukia answered looking away from him but clenching her hand within his, he took this as a sign that he would find out sooner or later, well he hoped so anyway.

"So Orihime how are things living with the Kurosaki's?" Matsumoto asked completely out of the blue. Orihime took a few moments to ponder over things as she thought about the last few days she had spent I the Kurosaki household. She had gotten to know the two girls really well and managed to get into a position where they almost viewed her as their older sister. Isshin treated her as if she were his own daughter and made her feel right at home.

* * *

/Flashback/

Orihime had came down the stairs from her shower as she hurried to get to school on time. She was all over the place as she tried to make up lost time. She was stopped however by a hand on her shoulder and turning around to look back up the stairs she saw the smiling face of Isshin looking back down at her.

"What is the rush Orihime?" Isshin asked her as he cocked his head to the side.

"I'm late for school!" Orihime almost squealed to him, at this Isshin brought his hand up to his chin and stroked his goatee and looked at the clock across the room above the television.

"But Orihime, its only 6 in the morning, you don't have school for at least an other two hours" Isshin finished as he smiled down at her again "Overly eager are we?" Isshin finished as he released his grip on her arm and Orihime was able to confirm for herself that it was still only 6 in the morning.

Orihime decided to sit down and watch some television as she waited for time to simply fly by. Sitting with the television on she rested her head on her hand and watched the television with almost no interest, feeling her body as if it was leaving her. She opened her eyes again to the sweet aroma of …. Toast and eggs, excellent. She looked up and saw that Isshin was sitting at the table across from her with a piece of toast himself and a cup of tea, whilst he read the morning's paper.

"When did you make this Isshin-san?" Orihime asked quietly as she felt the tiredness waring off, had she been sleeping again?

"First of all it is dad" Isshin began with a smile as he turned to Orihime " And second of all you fell asleep and I guessed I'd make you breakfast in case you were unable to eat anything before going out yourself, that way you had something ready" Isshin finished as they could both hear the patter of feet coming down the stairs.

Karin and Yuzu appeared before them in their school attire, they had both grown at least a little bit since the year gap and were both now almost as tall as Orihime, as they saw Orihime sitting on the couch and looking at them they both smiled towards her.

"Hello, Orihime Onee-Chan" both of the girls said to her as they came over to her and hugged into her happily, yes even Karin done this alongside her sister as weird as it was. Orihime smiled as they hugged her, this was what she had always wanted, a caring, loving family and now she had it. She quickly turned around and ate her breakfast while the twin girls went off to make their own, they quickly returned with a bowl of cereal each and both sat down on either side of Orihime. As they began to eat Orihime could feel the smile that she had earlier coming back to her face.

Isshin looked over at the show of affection both of his daughters were giving their new 'sister', it was heart warming to know that his girls were so eager to accept the poor lonely girl into their family. On that note his thoughts turned back to his son again as he thought about the ways that Orihime had felt about Ichigo, of course he knew, Ichigo may not have been awake when Orihime had come to see him , but he had been right outside the door as she had visited him. He felt bad after he had listened to her pour her heart out after it of course because he knew exactly what would happen before it did. Yet now, as she sat before him a part of their family, if not the way he had thought, he could not help but wonder if Ichigo did ever love this girl back anywhere near the extent she loved him. There was no use in thinking about this now anyway, the next time he saw Ichigo he was going to have to kill him, thinking like this was only going to make that harder.

/End Flashback/

* * *

"It's really nice Matsumoto-san" Orihime answered back with her trademark smile on her face, and why wouldn't it be? She had a loving family to go home to now, not the usual going home to an empty house and forced to spend the rest of her days in solitude.

"That's alright then" Matsumoto sighed as they all relaxed into a comfortable silence.

Above them the pained cries of lost souls resounded around the entire town. They all looked up to see the massed hordes of hollows pouring out form a black hole in the sky.

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

"Sode no Mai, Sodenoshirayuki"

The segmented blade of Zabimaru cleaved through the air as it made it's way towards the hollows before Renji and Rukia's Gigai could even hit the floor. It was later followed by a stream of ice as both of the attacks made their way towards the huge horde of hollows that had turned up. Zabimaru cut through hundreds of hollows at once as it made it's way across the sky, and the ice current made it's own way towards the dense amount of hollows. As it collided with them, many icy hollows fell to the ground and smashed against it.

A group of hollows appeared behind Rukia and Renji's blind spot and charged at them from the direction. An array of blue projectiles careened towards these hollows as they closed in completely destroying the souls of the hollows. Renji and Rukia nodded towards Ishida in thanks as he turned and faced towards other hollows who had appeared on the scene. Chad had by this time jumped into the air and directed his 'El Directo' at yet an other of the groups within the sky. Orihime, Matsumoto and Tatsuki were left in between the Shinigami and humans as they defended them from the encroaching hollows. The black portal in the sky showed no signs of stopping or closing as more and more hollows continued to come through and begain assaulting their position. As time dragged on it became almost painfully clear that the hollows were not even interested in anyone but one from the central three women. Matsumoto and Tatsuki prepared themselves to fight to defend Orihime. The amount of hollows that were assaulting on them had grown vastly in size as some were even able to get past the four defenders that were on the outside and were met with the fists of Tatsuki and the ash of Hieneko.

By now it had gotten to the state that the entire sky was covered by hollows and all of Orihime's defenders were being almost completely overrun by the sheer amount of the hollows. It was as if an entire army had been unleashed on the human world, their only goal was to kill them, the only defenders of Karakura town. Orihime even tried to do her bit to help her friends as she sent out Koten Zanshuun to try and do her bit to keep the hollows away from her and her friends. It became painfully apparent to all of them however that the hollows were too much in number as they continued to assault them, no matter how many they were able to get rid of.

"Just how many of them are there?" Renji yelled to everyone.

"Too many for us to handle!" Tatsuki answered for everyone as she delivered a kick to the face of a hollow. At that moment a hollow broke past Chad as it made it's way swooping and sweeping amongst everyone else to get at Orihime. She noticed this movement and closed her eyes in anticipation of what was to come, maybe she would get to see Ichigo this way?

She was brought back out of her thoughts as she heard a swishing noise quickly followed by a clang of metal. Looking up quickly she could see the mop of orange hair that was almost a complete head above her own. The white clothes of the person swished around in the wind that blew his hair in the same direction. The white blade was deeply embedded within the hollows mouth. The figure before her turned his head around to look at her from the corner of his eye.

"Yo, Inoue" Ichigo said casually as Orihime was finally able to bask in what was the presence of Ichigo, again.

* * *

_I apologise for the lateness of this chapter, basically I have had a lot going on and been having to do that while at the sametime trying to do this. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review and stuff, also if you are not liking where this story is going could you please tell me because the amount of review I got last chapter made me think that maybe you guys are not enjoying this story too much?_

_Well anyway I shall see you guys next chapter and until then byebyes =] - Varrukh _


	10. Chapter 10 I'm Back

She could not believe that he was here, it was not possible, how could it be? The more important thing on he mind however was what she came to realise as she stared at his back.

/Flashback/

Orihime lay in her bath and simply relaxed, she had just wanted nothing more than to do this ever since she had gotten up that morning, just lay down in a warm bath and relax. After what seemed like a long enough time and after she had cleaned herself thoroughly, meaning she was more or less red raw all over, she climbed out of her bath and looked in her bathroom mirror. Because of the heat of her bath the steam had fogged up her mirror, she reached out and rubbed away the steam from the mirror. As she done so where her reflection should have been in the mirror the hollow mask of Ichigo in stead appeared

"I will kill you, I hope you know that" it hissed as Orihime screamed for her life at the very sight.

/Flashback End/

That was what he had said to her, and she knew it had to be true because he had also shown a very strong desire to kill her in all of the times he had come to the human world in the past. Opting to go for her over almost all others in their group. Now here he was right in front of her, he could easily kill her right now if he really wanted to. His white attire swished in the prevailing wind as the hollow struggled against his white blade. He turned his full attention to the hollow as it groaned in its annoyance at being prevented it's food. In a simple sweeping movement of his sword he had cut at the back of the hollow's throat and had decapitated it. As it simply disappeared into its separate particles and floated into the air all of the other hollow's who had been with it stopped in their battles, many of those battling with the group being easily killed in their lapse in concentration.

All of the hollow's attention was directed at Ichigo as he stood in front of Orihime. She watched in fear as the man who wanted her dead began to turn to her slowly. She closed her eyes so that her death would at least come quickly and she wouldn't have to watch as the man she loved was the one to end her life. After a moment however she heard a soft chuckle and in her sudden shock she opened her eyes to see a calm expression on Ichigo's face with a slight smile there too.

"What are you doing Inoue-san?" Ichigo asked softly as he smiled slightly closing his eyes at the same time.

Everyone was completely dumbstruck by that single sentence. Not to mention the fact that Ichigo had on many occasions talked of his desire to kill Orihime but the very fact that Ichigo was there was something that had to be sorted out. And why were the hollows staying so still since Ichigo had entered the area? Rukia looked at Ichigo and felt for his spiritual pressure but to her complete and utter surprise found him lacking any, he was in those white clothes that looked almost like the ones that he had white in his Bankai attire, only white. Yet he was not a Shinigami, the last time they had seen him he was a hollow, mask and all, even his attitude fit that of a hollow perfectly. Only thing that was different now was that the mask was gone and Ichigo looked just like he did on the day he had left Hueco Mundo in order to fight against Aizen.

"Ichigo… is that you?" Rukia asked timidly as Ichigo turned to her with his eyes still closed and his smile still plastered across his face.

"Hello Ruki-" Ichigo began before he was interrupted by a loud scream.

"I'LL KILL YOU KUROSAKI!" screamed Matsumoto as she sent the ashes of her Heineko right in Ichigo's direction.

"Matsumoto-san! We can't take our focus off the hollows!" Renji yelled at Matsumoto too late as the swirling mass that was the ashes had began to wrap themselves around Ichigo. He did not even attempt to try and free himself from their stranglehold as he simply allowed them to surround and envelop him.

Tatsuki turned around in fear as she expected the huge amount of hollows that had been firing into them not only seconds to again begin their assault. Yet she found them to be standing completely still, almost as if they were standing to attention. She turned back to the fight between Matsumoto and Ichigo only to see that the ashes around Ichigo had tightened as much as they could. Ichigo's face was revealed and that smile that he had with his eyes closed had not left at all. That really annoyed Tatsuki, so much so that she felt compelled to charge at Ichigo, all of the guilt she had felt after her last fight with him had completely left her. He had put Orihime through a hell that she knew that she would never be able to comprehend, she wanted his head. Leaping into the air Tatsuki concentrated spiritual pressure into her foot as she brought it crashing right into the side of Ichigo's face. As her attack made impact everyone could hear the crack as it connected, Orihime cringed at the show of violence right in front of her. She was reaching her limit of seeing those she cared for and loved continually being hurt right in front of her, and even about her.

As Ichigo's head was forced to it's right a grunt of pain could be heard as his eyes opened slightly, just not enough for anyone to see them completely. He brought his head back around again after that attack and looked in the direction of his oldest and greatest friend.

"Tatsuki-Chan as hateful as ever towards me" Ichigo joked lightly only to receive a similar attack to the other side of his face, causing the same effect to happen. All the while that this happened the hollows around them still did not move. This scared Renji, why were they not doing anything? Why were they just standing there? And why was it ever since Ichigo had shown up and killed that other hollow that this response was being made?

Ichigo was really struggling to hold his act together as he was getting the violent treatment at the current moment. He knew that he did deserve it but he had hoped that saving Orihime might have at least gained him some good reputation back. Guess it was going to have to be the slow and hard way then. Ichigo brought his face back around to the forward facing direction only to feel a hand grabbing at his chin and making his face look in a certain direction, which he guessed was at someone's face.

"If you do not stop making that face, I will kill you" came the soft voice of what Ichigo guessed to be Matsumoto. He slightly opened his eyes to her as he seen that it was in fact her who was in front of him.

"Trust me you will like me better this way" Ichigo answered back politely only to receive a punch to his right cheek.

Ichigo groaned at yet an other application of pain, had he really done so much wrong?

_Well you did say that you wanted to kill the girl you are standing in front of, who many of these people care much about _came the snide remark from the voice within his head

'not helping' Ichigo answered back annoyed.

* * *

"Ichigo!"

"Ichigo" came two very feminine voices as two white blurs appeared on either side of Ichigo. As the dirt and dust settled around him two figures came into view. They were both women of at least the same age as Orihime and her friends. One had long red hair and emerald beauties of eyes, the other had long blue hair with a pair of beautiful purple eyes. Both of the girls had white clothes on much like Ichigo, their clothes were both basically the same as Nelliel Tu Odelshvank with their Zanpaktou placed across their backs. They were at least the same height as Orihime and almost had the same bust size, just not quite. Both of them had positioned themselves between Tatsuki and Matsumoto and Ichigo, they had also very quickly drew their Zanpaktou nd stood in position ready to fight.

"Girls, please put away your weapons" Ichigo requested politely.

"But Ichigo, look at what they done to you! How can we stand by and simply watch?" asked the red haired girl as she turned to the smiling face of Ichigo.

"Kyota, please, I caused these people a fair amount of suffering, they deserve this chance to take out their anger" Ichigo told the red haired girl as she backed down slightly.

"I still don't like it" Kyota answered back.

"Me neither Ichigo" piped in Sachi from his other side.

"don't worry about it girls, you know me I don't get hurt too easily, and it's even harder to kill me" Ichigo answered as he smiled at both of them. "Now get out of here before they view you as a threat and I have to hurt them again, therefore jeopardising what I came here to do" Ichigo told both girls as they looked to each other then him and quickly disappeared.

* * *

"Now do as you will, I can guarantee you no more interruptions" Ichigo stated to everyone present. "You may all beat my body until you are content, then we shall talk" Ichigo said as he felt himself being released from the ash prison.

'this is going to hurt' Ichigo mentally complained as he prepared himself.

_From what I am seeing, yes this is most definitely going to hurt_ the voice in his head answered for him.

'you know sometimes it was nice when it was only my own voice I heard in my mind' Ichigo mentally argued.

_You'd get lonely without me in here_ the voice joked back.

Tatsuki did not quite know what to do, she was sure that Ichigo had basically told them all to go all out against him but, why was he just standing there with that smile on his face? This same thought ran through the minds of all the others in the group except the more attuned large Mexican giant who had almost already sussed out his best friend, even after what he had become, he was still the same as before. Tatsuki was the first to act, believing that if no-one was going to call Ichigo's bluff then she would do it herself. She placed a punch right into Ichigo's gut expecting to get either a block or a deflection, but neither came as she was able to completely hammer right into his gut.

"First again, eh Tatsuki-Chan?" Ichigo asked her jokingly as blood oozed out of his mouth. Tatsuki was too shocked to stop her next move as she had instantly went on to follow through her punch with yet an other aimed right at his head. It collided with his skull and sent him right into the wall of the alleyway they stood in. as the explosion of dust and smoke settled, Ichigo was revealed to them completely imprinted within the wall of the alleyway. He did not even bother to move, instead allowing his body to go limp and let them all do as they wanted to his body to take their fury out on him.

* * *

Sachi and Kyota stood on a building high above the one sided fight that was taking place. Both looked on in concern as their protector was basically being physically laid out across the floor, without the slightest amount of any retaliation. They knew why obviously since he had told them before they had even set out.

"I don't like this" Sachi told her sister fear evident within her voice.

"Me neither, but like Ichigo said it is hard to hurt him, and extremely hard to kill him, he'll be fie" Kyota answered her sister trying to reassure her. "After all he went through to save us I would have thought you would realise these things spiritual pressure put together doesn't even match up" Kyota added with a wink at her sister. It had the desired effect as Sachi began to smile before answering with a more energetic "Yeah".

Down on the lower level Ichigo received yet an other kick to the face followed up by a hard slap which he took to be Tatsuki's kick and Matsumoto's slap. None of the others seemed to be attacking him however which did surprise him somewhat, he had figured he had caused plenty of anguish and hatred and he felt he deserved whatever they threw at him.

"Please stop Tatsuki-Chan, Matsumoto-san" came the almost desperate voice of Orihime, as both women turned to her they could see that she was on the verge of tears. Even after he had said such horrible things about wanting to kill her, individually she still could not bear to watch as he was mercilessly beaten for what he had done. She walked forward and stopped directly in front of Ichigo. His clothes were ripped and shredded along the sleeves leaving him with a short sleeved jacket now, the rim was in much the same condition. His cheeks looked like they had went twelve rounds with Mohammed Ali, yes Tatsuki and Matsumoto collectively managed to bruise his face up pretty bad. Yet as she looked up into his face she could see that he still had his eyes closed tightly.

"Ichigo?" Orihime asked as he jumped slightly at her sudden close proximity to him, even his higher perceptory skills didn't detect her movements, she was good.

"Yes Inoue-San?" Ichigo asked politely cocking his head to the side, Orihime gasped as she took a step back, finally coming to terms with the fact that it was indeed Ichigo that stood before her.

"It's you!" Orihime breathed out as she ran forwards and encased him within her embrace, this took him by complete surprise as his eyes shot open the second she smashed into him, hugging him tightly. He looked down at the head resting against his chest and could see it moving slightly as he could feel liquid running down his chest from her tears.

He was unsure of what to do and as such in his best guess at reassurance stroked the back of her head as she simply wept into him. Everyone simply looked on, it was hard to believe that over three months ago this sight was the last thing any of them had expected to see, especially Tatsuki or Matsumoto. All of Orihime's world came down to this one point, Ichigo was back and judging from the way he was acting it was actually him, the image in the mirror had been right, he was back to normal and he was back here. She stepped back in order to look up to his face, she seen that what the image had told her was also true, his appearance had changed, his eyes were golden irises with the black sclera he had whenever his hollow mask was on. Right now however that was the last thing on her mind as the most important thing in her life was back with her and she was going to make sure that he knew how she felt about him before anything could come between them ever again.

* * *

"Hey Kyota what is the human girl doing?" Sachi asked her smarter and more informed sister.

"I don't know but by the way Ichigo is acting it is not a bad thing" Kyota answered as she paid more attention to the other humans who surrounded the pair. "Sachi, can you get a spiritual pressure level on those other humans?" Kyota asked her sister kindly.

"Sure" was the reply she got from her sister as she activated her eyes, turning from purple to orange. She ran her eyes over all of them noticing the varying levels of flames from each individual person. Those that looked like Shinigami had variations too. The one male one had a large amount, maybe about captains level, whereas the females were about maybe lieutenant level. The two male humans had a surprisingly large amount of spiritual pressure or more, one had a monstrous amount and the other was extremely proficient at harnessing the latent spiritual pressure. The female human who was completely meshed right up against Ichigo had an average amount of spiritual pressure flowing from her, it was orange in colour and looked like it could be far stronger than it really was. Then as you would expect her eyes, while looking at Orihime were forced to look at Ichigo too. As she done so she could see the inferno of his spiritual pressure burning around him in a magnificent white flame, as if it was to show just how pure he was.

"Ichigo was right, their collective spiritual pressure is nothing compared to his own" Sachi answered

"After what happened in Las Noches are you surprised, I mean look at us we are alive and even back to our normal forms because of him" Kyota indicated as Sachi made a face, which also indicated she was remembering the events of that time.

* * *

/Flashback/

The huge explosion that had destroyed the central hall and threw everyone far away, had sent Ichigo quite a fair distance too, before he himself also smashed into a wall behind him. As he fell to the ground he landed on his right knee and supported himself on that knee and his other foot. He breathed heavily as he tried to regain his composure after such a strong attack. The room he had landed in looked like a small living chamber, or what was left of it, some of the roof in here had collapsed in too alongside some of the walls. As his eyes travelled around the room, Ichigo noticed the red and blue colour in the corner of his eye under some rubble. He hoped that his eyes had betrayed him and against his mind's wish his body knew he instinctively wanted to know, that was when his worst fears were realised. He lifted the rubble up with his left hand and threw it far off into a wall where it blasted through from the force of his throw. Both of the girls were laying there in each other's arms, looking so peaceful. It made Ichigo's heart hurt, on levels he had not felt in a long time, to know he had come to close to saving them and had ultimately failed, it destroyed him. He could feel his grief building up inside of him.

He reached over to them, touching their foreheads and stroking their hair out of their faces. Their skin was cold, their eyes never flinched, he could feel absolutely nothing coming from them. No longer could he hold it in, the tears began to stream down his face as he looked on at those two girls. He had failed them, he had became their protector and he had let them get hurt, even worse was the fact that they were now dead. He moved over to them and picked them up into his arms, cradling them both from the ground, their limp forms moulding over his arms. He craned his head forward as he met their foreheads with his own , letting his tears run down their faces as he felt his world crashing down around him. Forget his wishes to go and see his friends and family in the real world, if he could not save these two from death in this world he refused to return to them.

His body racked in his sobs as he simply held on to the two girls, he opened his eyes to look down on the form of their almost 'sleeping' faces. He was finding it almost too hard to accept that they were gone, the two very bubbly girls he had met only a few days ago and had the desire to very much eat them and add their power to his own. Now he was crying over their dead bodies as he cradled them in his arms.

"NOOO! , NOOOOO! , NOOOOOOOO!" Ichigo screamed at the top of his lungs as his tears rolled down his face and fell onto the forms of the small girls in his arms.

Behind him he could hear the movements of rubble being moved and thrown to the ground again. Some of those in that hall had managed to survive obviously. Ichigo looked up to see who would dare interrupt him in his moment of utter grief. Through what was left of the doorway he could see hundreds of Arrancar racing through the hallway outside towards the great hall, obviously alerted by the huge explosion that had made the entire fortress shake from the blast. They continued to race past their room, not even bothering to look in for a long time and as such Ichigo returned to his quiet sobs over the girls.

"Hey, there is someone in here" came a voice from the same direction as that doorway. Golden eyes snapped open and looked through teary vision to see two Arrancar standing at the door and plenty of others standing behind them. Ichigo growled at them almost in a feral manner as more of the Arrancar moved into the room, as they noticed the red and blue hair he could see the look on the lead Arrancar's face change from curiosity into an ugly smile.

"I see you took care of those two pests, although the boss said that he wanted them alive, I like your idea of killing them, they were far too troublesome to be kept alive" the Arrancar told Ichigo in an almost proud voice. Bad idea.

"I did not kill them" came an amazingly deep voice that seemed to reverberate around the entire room as Ichigo rose from his kneeling position keeping the girls in his arms.

_No Ichigo! NOOO!_ the voice tried in vain to try and stop Ichigo's actions. Ichigo forced spiritual pressure through his feet into the ground below him and created a slab of crystal at his feet. He knelt down and placed both of the girls on to the slab making sure that they would be comfortable. He knelt down beside the crystal bed and forced spiritual pressure out through his hands and forced it to change into a crystal covering for the slab, creating one layer, then two and finally making a third layer of crystal to cover over the slab.

"What are you doing?" the Arrancar asked him his more curious voice coming back over. Ichigo turned to them, only now did they see his cheeks which had been stained by tears and his body hunched over as if it was exhausted.

"I am protecting them from any further harm" Ichigo answered in his deeper than normal voice, all of the Arrancar noticed it all at once, not yet understanding it's significance however they charged at him, only understanding that he was protecting those girls. Who were the enemies of Volak.

A small speck of white material had rested on his left cheek right where a tear streak had been previously, as the Arrancar charged forward , they soon found out why that was a bad idea after saying such things to Kurosaki Ichigo. Ichigo motioned his hands over the ground below him, two pillars of crystal came out of the ground and stopped just short of his hands. He grabbed onto the ends of each pillar and snapped them off at the tips. Lifting the majority of it from the ground, both of the pillars turned to a liquid in his hands and reformed into the form of his previous Bankai form. The difference here being that both of the swords were white, and the chains that left from it's end extended right up both of his arms, ripping away at the fabric of his Bankai coat and meeting at his back. With a growl Ichigo disappeared from view in a crack and reappeared right at the back of the group of Arrancar, where he began to utterly destroy Arrancar without any remorse.

He moved around them without any hint of having to try too hard. They could not land a hit on him and when they did the attack only managed to bounce off his skin. Arrancar fell to his blade easily, he moved over to one where he sliced upwards with both swords and cleaved the Arrancar's arms off, swiped both of the Arrancar's legs from under him and before he hit the ground, then cut his head off. Before the body could even hit the ground Ichigo had moved on to the next Arrancar, doing whatever dance of death he would to this one. All the time the voice within Ichigo's head was yelling at him to stop only for it to be met with the wailing in Ichigo's mind.

_Ichigo, stop it or else you will kill someone you don't want to!_ the voice yelled over his head as Ichigo continued his complete and utter rampage.

The lead Arrancar watched as Ichigo moved through his group of Arrancar with ease, almost as if they were nothing, it angered him to no end to think that this damn, whatever he was, was going through them so easily. He brought out his Zanpaktou and held it horizontally across his face.

"Strike, Scorpion" the Arrancar was completely covered by smoke as his transformation took hold and changed his bodily form. As the dust settled and Ichigo finally made his way towards this final Arrancar it was revealed what his change was. The Arrancar's face had mandibles coming from the lower part of it's mask, down it's body it had thick armour plating running across both it's chest and it's back. It's arms had changed too as on it's hand were two large clamping claws and running up the arms was armour the same as that on it's back and chest. However what was unchanged was it's legs. That was when the final change made it's appearance in the shape of a huge stabbing pincer, of course, what would a scorpion be without it's trademark tail? This one the bulb on the tail was huge almost larger than the claws on the Arrancar's fists.

"Come on you abomination, taste my poison!" the Arrancar shouted at Ichigo, as Ichigo did not even blink and continued towards the Arrancar, hatred spread across his face. The Arrancar was able to notice now however that there was some white material that had taken up the space that had previously been taken up by tears, on both his cheeks white lines of material ran from both of his eyes right down his cheeks and it was beginning to spread towards each other and away from each other at the same time.

When Ichigo finally closed in he swiped his sword at the Arrancar only to have it caught by the large claw, Ichigo gave out a pained cry, not at being hurt, but simply that he was still hurt from what had happened to those two girls, it was soon replaced by hatred as he resigned himself to kill these Arrancar who dared interrupt his mourning. The Arrancar noticed as the material on Ichigo's face sped up it's pace and realised that it was making a hollow mask now. It had covered the whole bottom of his face and was beginning to climb over his right eye and a large outstretching horn was beginning to grow on that side too. Those golden eyes shone out at him through the moisture until the one on the right side, covered by the mask became pure red, like a light against the mask. Ichigo's roar took over as the very room shook from the full blown fury that was applied to the spiritual pressure, that was not the only thing that could be heard however as a new voice could be heard over the roar, a genderless one.

"Stop it Ichigo, if you give in to these emotions all you have fought for will be lost!" the voice roared through the room.

The Arrancar was not given the time to think about the sudden interruption of the voice as Ichigo's face came back into view. Or what was left of it at least as it was only the top left of his face that was still in view. Ichigo swiped his other sword at the Arrancar only for the Arrancar to catch that sword in it's claws also, now Ichigo stood opposite the Arrancar, without a weapon to attack with and a very large, very poisonous tail hovering above the Arrancar's head and pointing right at Ichigo.

"You see, I am the best in suppression, I can stop one person easily, either killing them or keeping them captive. I am Yvern Eron, and I will be your killer today" Yvern finished off with what might be described as a smile on a scorpions face. He brought his large tail down in one fluent movement and aimed it right at Ichigo's face. It was too late that the Arrancar finally realised that there was spiritual pressure collecting under the areas his claws were covering. With an almighty blast two red beams shot out through the claws of the Arrancar and Ichigo's hands were freed, he wasted no time and brought both swords up to protect his face . As the clang of the tail meeting metal sounded out through the room, Ichigo looked at the face of the Arrancar for a moment. And the Arrancar noticed to it's horror that the red began to take over the other eye now.

Ichigo pointed the index finger and his middle finger on each hand at the face of Yvern, collecting spiritual pressure in that area Yvern could not help but notice the screeching that was taking place right in front of him. He was too late to do anything about it however, as he was completely engulfed within the white brilliance of the cero after only a few seconds of it having to be charged up. The attack blasted right through the Arrancar and continued onwards destroying the wall and any subsequent walls behind it. It even went out into the hallway and annihilated some of the Arrancar who were still making their way to the main hall. Ichigo dropped what was left of the Arrancar's body, which did only consist of an arm and the lower body. He turned to the small slab of crystal he had made previously, looking at the crystal slab and protection he was assaulted by the voice again.

"Ichigo fight back your despair, you can save them!" cried out the genderless voice in his head into the room.

"How?" came the first tangible evidence that Ichigo was still even able to control himself.

"Calm down and I will tell you how, in your current form what I am telling you to do will destroy them" the voice finished as it calmed down itself too.

The mask that had taken it's place on Ichigo's face slowly disintegrated into the wind as he felt all of the anger he had just acquired leaving his body. The two swords within his hands slowly blew away into nothing too as Ichigo's body slumped to the ground in front of the cradle of crystal.

'so what have I to do?' Ichigo asked his mind, even talking to his own mind he sounded exhausted.

_We must apply the right spiritual pressure to them, fortunately for us in your grief and anger you made them an enclosed space and our operation will be much easier_ the voice told him analyticaly.

'then how do I do that?' Ichigo asked the voice almost desperately.

_Simple, apply your spiritual pressure into that enclosed area of space and the girls will be healed, I will regulate the spiritual pressure going in_ the voice told him as Ichigo crawled towards the girls.

' I thought you said I could do nothing when I was in that other way?' Ichigo asked noticing the contradiction in the voice's earlier promise.

_That is true Ichigo, I would not be able to regulate what spiritual pressure went in, we need to give in more positive energy in order to regenerate the bodies, in your grief stricken state you would only be giving off negative energy, therefore hindering any progress to bringing them back to life_ the voice explained as Ichigo finally reached the crystal enclosure, placing both of his hands over the surface.

_Now force your spiritual pressure to your hands and let it flow into the crystal, I will do the rest_ the voice told him almost as if trying to soothe him.

Ichigo done as instructed, feeling his spiritual pressure leaving his body and going into the crystal. It lit up as he done so, glowing in an almost transparent way. Ichigo watched as the bodies within the dome began to glow too as colour began to make it's way back on to their faces. Ichigo's mind finally was able to relax as he felt a pulse run through the entire dome, yet he was in for a surprise as he kept applying his spiritual pressure. The bodies began to glow even brighter and even became almost blinding light as Ichigo continued the rigorous ritual, even feeling his spiritual pressure beginning to deplete, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

_You are doing fine Ichigo, this is taking a surprising amount of spiritual pressure I know, but what you are actually doing is healing them _**entirely** the voice told him, he however did not catch on to the hint as he simply continued his actions.

Ichigo was beginning to feel exerted as his body became tired. He pressed on however applying all of his spiritual pressure at a constant rate, making sure that he done this right. So tired was he becoming that he never even noticed the crystal dome enlarging as he pooled his spiritual pressure in. Ichigo was unable to hold on any longer as his body finally gave out on him, refusing to give up the last of his stores which were all that would keep him alive. He slumped forwards onto the crystal dome and smashed right through it. He was completely out by the time he had hit the ground, only able to see a swirling mass of black as he done so.

* * *

The maelstrom of darkness surrounded him, no matter the direction he looked all he could see was darkness. Suddenly to his left he spied the first sign of any light and leapt in that general direction. He could see the light beginning to fade away and moved even quicker so as not to lose that light. He burst through into the light only o find himself stood on the side of a skyscraper, having just burst through a window in his attempts to make it here. Something felt strange about this place, here he was in a place he felt he recognised, not to mention the fact that he was standing on the side of a building.

He took in all of his surroundings as he stood in place, just anticipating someone to attack him while he stood there unable to comprehend anything that was going on. It was starting to annoy him now, where the hell was he? With a full 360 turn he had managed to take in most of his surroundings, at least on this side of the building anyway. He looked directly up at the sky and attempted to walk upwards, finding himself almost losing his footing on the building. Stamping his foot back down again, he steadied himself and looked back at the sky again.

He took a tentative step forward and found that his movement seemed like an acceptable one, and proceeded to move forwards, finding it strange that he could walk up the side of a building, although flashes of fights that had taken place on this very building came to his mind. He reached the top and guessed that if he was to walk over the edge, then he would fall of and then who knows what gravity would do to him? He knelt down and grabbed at the top of the building and eased himself over the edge. As he done so he realised gravity held no distinct laws here as his body was now firmly pressed to the top of the building.

'huh this place is weird' Ichigo commented to himself as he picked himself up from the ground.

"It should not be, Ichigo" came an almost familiar voice, to which Ichigo turned around and came face to face with a man he felt he recognised, with stubble and shades he looked very familiar.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked automatically at the man who stood on the other side of the building from him.

"HAH!, oh old man Zangetsu I feel sorry for you, kingy forgot all about you!" came a menacing voice then followed by laughter that echoed throughout the landscape. Ichigo turned to a slightly raised bit of the building they were standing on to see an albino human looking at him, menacing smile and all.

"Sorry, but I don't know who you are either, and why did you call me kingy?" Ichigo asked completely honestly, he had no recollection of these two at all. The albino's laughter was cut short as an almost hurt expression crossed his face, obviously he was hurt at being forgotten too.

"They are you Ichigo" came a very familiar voice from behind him, he turned to find a third man walking towards him. This one was different from the other two, he was much more feminine in appearance, as if male and female had been mashed together and had created this being, making him look beautiful, and Ichigo knew it was a man because of the voice, it was deeper than a woman's. He was a tall man maybe about the same height as the man with the shades, he had long wavy red hair that reached down to about his shoulder blades. His chest was covered by a long sleeved white shirt that was done up until the top three buttons which were left open, he had on white trousers also and even white shoes to finish off the look. He looked just like the most beautiful man in the world, but as Ichigo kept looking at the man he knew that not all of that statement was true, as out from the sides of the man two wings extended, but not covered in feathers in stead they looked more like crystal feathers. And Ichigo also noticed the crystal weapon that the creature held in it's left hand looking like a plain sword.

"Greetings Ichigo, it is nice to finally meet you" the man before him said while smiling at the same time.

"who are you? And what do you mean they are me?" Ichigo asked the man while the man continued to smile at him.

"For starters I mean exactly what I said, they are you, they are a part of your power and therefore you. Secondly I have no real name but I do believe that you may know what I have been called in the past" the man hinted as he watched Ichigo trying to work it out. Without any visible changes to Ichigo's expression betraying the fact he had figured it out the man continued on, his smile never wavering.

"Think back to your bout with Aizen, you consumed him and in turn you gained his abilities and power, now tell me what power do you think you have?" the man asked him, Ichigo took the time out to think back to his fight with Aizen remembering only when he had fallen to the blade that had punched right through his chest. If what the man was saying was true though then whatever power Aizen had he now had.

"You don't remember do you kingy?" the albino man butted in as Ichigo turned to him and the smile returned to the man's face.

"Well after Aizen finished you, he made you become a hollow through his heart's desire, is this not ringing any bells?" the man asked as Ichigo tried his best to remember anything about that time in his past. Nothing was coming and it was beginning to annoy Ichigo, how could something so important be lost to him?

The man decided to take pity on Ichigo, feeling his elevated stress levels in himself.

"I am the Hogyoku" the man told Ichigo as Ichigo could only stand before this man in sheer disbelief, this guy was the thing that made Aizen so strong? This was the reason that Ichigo had died in the first place? Ichigo's mind swirled with questions as he was brought back out of his mind by the same man.

"I am the Hogyoku, yet my last master as you know was Aizen, by consuming him you gained me, and I decided that by seeing your past that you deserved my full power" the man finished as he looked to Ichigo with an almost proud smile.

"If you are the Hogyoku, then who are those two?" Ichigo asked, surprising all three the man because he had not expected Ichigo to accept it quite as quickly and the other two because he was still unable to remember them.

"They were your power before I came along, they are your Zanpaktou and even your hollow side" the man told him as Ichigo looked at each accordingly. His stare stayed on the hollow for longer than he anticipated and it warranted a response from the albino man.

"What do you want kingy?" the man asked with a bored expression on his face as he stood up from his sitting position.

"Was it you that said those things to Orihime?" Ichigo asked almost dangerously, yet the albino man did not waver his smile as he looked at Ichigo.

"Nope, you done that all yourself, I was not in control, you were to an extent, you were more akin to your animal side in that time, but I had no control you showed me a side even I couldn't make" the albino man laughed as Ichigo was left feeling worse than he wanted to.

"However, I wont deny that even I knew that you had lost your mind in those times, the way your mind worked and conceived the woman as a threat were perfectly reasonable" the albino man told him, which lets face it is a complete contrast to what you would expect him to say.

"Ichigo, it is good to see you again" the older man spoke out finally as the albino man looked to him with an almost respective expression, the Hogyoku looked at him too.

"As you have been told I am called Zangetsu and I am your Zanpaktou, this…" Zangetsu motioned as he swished the form of the Zanpaktou shikai in front of himself and placed it in a ready stance to fight, "… is your shikai which by itself is my name, Zangetsu" he explained as he then held it pointed out in front of him. The blade began to glow.

"Bankai" he quietly intoned as the sword drastically reduced in size and took the form of a smaller sword with what looked like a swastika hand guard. "This is the Bankai form of your Zanpaktou, Tensa Zangetsu" came a much more youthful voice as the smoke cleared and revealed a younger Zangetsu looking at Ichigo. The younger man smiled at Ichigo's face, he was beginning to remember.

The albino spoke up again.

"My power you gained later than old man Zangetsu, and did not managed to perfect until you basically died and your instincts alongside my unwillingness to let you die brought you back in your perfect form" the albino man was surprised to see the man that had stared at him almost scathingly not too long ago actually looking at him with a less angry stare. After his short pause he continued.

"Basically I gave you the powers of a hollow, it was a boost to your already sizeable spiritual pressure, yet required as the Arrancar proved to be far stronger than you had anticipated" the hollow continued as Ichigo simply stared at him taking in all of it like a sponge.

"Unlike a Zanpaktou where you called out it's name, you only had to compress spiritual pressure over your face and think of a hollow mask, therefore gaining my power and becoming what were called Vizard" as the albino finished his explanation and mentioned the Vizard flashes of different people with masks on raced through his mind.

"Up until now you have been using my power on it's own, although this is not a bad thing, it is better that you use your hollow and Zanpaktou powers, so that you do not become overly dependant on any one thing" the beautiful man told him as the other two entities moved over to his side, each one taking one side.

"You may be able to use two of these powers in conjunction with each other, such as you did with your Shinigami and hollow powers, or my own and your hollow powers, or indeed my own and your Zanpaktou powers…" the man stopped as his pleasant smile left his face "… I must tell you however, that if you try to use all three at one time the effects will be far less favourable to everyone" the man said as his serious side came out full force.

"Now get back to the real world as I do believe that those two little well maybe not, but anyway those delightful girls are awake now" the man said as his smile returned to hise face that was mirrored on the young Zangetsu's face and even the albino man had a slight grimace too. Ichigo felt his grip on the ground loosening as he fell upwards and surfaced as if from deep water back to reality.

* * *

He was greeted with fretting voices as they were all over him, he tentatively opened his eyes to see two women standing over him , one with long blue hair and purple eyes, the other with red hair and green eyes. They were startlingly like the two girls that he had been trying to save and the Hogyoku had told him were alive and well now. As he looked over to where the crystal lay cracked he realised that the girls must have left the crystal dome and were around somewhere. Looking directly up again he could see the two women smiling at him widely and after a few moments of putting pieces together it finally clicked as both girls threw themselves at him, hugging at a side of him each. It was only now that he realised that the two girls were much older than what they had been before, maybe about his age or slightly younger in appearance. The other things that he noticed were the feeling of soft flesh against his chest and as he looked down he could almost have pooled blood from his nose. As it was he was able to keep his act together.

Both girls were by all accounts basically naked their bodies only covered by the scabby remains of the clothes they had previously worn. Unable to think up a logical way to work this out Ichigo was left on the floor without much else to think than the predicament he was in and how, if Orihime was ever to hear about this, chances were even slimmer than they already were.

"Seems you find yourself in a strange situation, ae lord?" came a voice from his left, Ichigo turned to the direction of the voice to see Zakabe standing there with his Zanpaktou drawn and trailing along the ground, yet any thoughts of ill feeling were not there as Zakabe had an almost warm smile on his face. His body was even more heavily scarred and he was even bleeding as he stood before them from four deep gashes that ran horizontally across his abs and pecs. As he looked at Ichigo he smiled how red the young man was, clearly he had not yet felt the touch of a woman.

"Someone get some more modest clothes for these ladies please" Zakabe ordered almost as if to himself and Ichigo thought he actually was until a few seconds later an Arrancar landed next to Zakabe with two sets of female clothing before laying them on the floor and disappearing again, not before greeting Ichigo with a "Ichigo-sama" and a curt nod.

"If I am right then you beat Volak right?" Ichigo asked even knowing himself that it seemed like a stupid question.

"Yes you are indeed correct, although if you want any more evidence please hit me and realise I'm in fact here" Zakabe told Ichigo, his first use of sarcasm at Ichigo anyway. Ichigo ignored the sarcasm and continued on.

"Then that means that you are the leader of this place right?" Ichigo asked as Zakabe stood still just waiting for Ichigo to get to the point, he knew what Ichigo wanted to ask but enjoyed making the man ask the question outright.

"Yes you are correct I am now the king of all hollows now" Zakabe answered him making sure that it did not sound as if it was a boastful remark.

"Then why did that Arrancar call me sama?" Ichigo asked finally getting to the question which had him stumped. Zakabe smiled as the two girls that were hugging Ichigo now seemed to refuse to move, the pink cheeks were all Zakabe needed as hints as to why they now refused to move or else 'expose themselves'.

"I will make this short so that these ladies can change quickly. That Arrancar may have called you sama because he believes you to be his personal superior in all areas, which lets face it in this place you basically are, however it comes from the fact that after I defeated Volak I told them that as their king there was only one above me in our monarchy" Zakabe finished for dramatic effect to leave Ichigo thinking, if he was the king then what was higher than a king in a monarchy? Ichigo pondered it over in his head forgetting about the bodies pressed up against his own, Zakabe however noticed that the girls still seemed uncomfortable and turned to walk out of the room.

"It's a God Ichigo, you are the God of Hueco Mundo now" Zakabe told him as he left the room leaving the girls alone with Ichigo.

Ichigo could definitely not get his mind back to the two bodies that were now leaving his own as he sat reeling in that piece of information, he was viewed as a God? But why? He had not done anything that would have gave him any means of making himself out to be a God at all.

_Not true, you brought two girls back from the apparent dead and even brought them back to their normal forms, it is just like Aizen had said about Inoue-san, now both of your powers trample on the toes of Gods, and you are believed to be one _the Hogyoku commented in his mind, which brought his mind back a full 180 turn and put his mind back to Orihime. He had to go and see her, he had to sort things out and if he could not sort things out there then there was always Hueco Mundo where he could live out the rest of his existence. With that he stood and looked around the room finally, he saw both of the women walking out of a dark corner of the room, where they had some amount of privacy from predatory eyes, lets face it you do not peep at someone who is obviously close to a God.

They both looked beautiful as they looked at him and gave him a nice smile, Sachi and Kyota both wore the same attire as the previous Tercera Espada, Tia Hallibel. If ever there was an outfit that screamed in the faces of men 'look at me, I'm sexy' then this was it, nope that was just weird, he had said before he would protect them as their brother, as their guardian, he would not think such things about them.

"What do we do now then -" Sachi began unsure of how to address Ichigo.

"Ichigo, you two can definitely call me Ichigo" Ichigo answered with a smile as both of the women smiled too at his smile.

"What do we do now then, Ichigo?" Sachi finished as her sister looked to him too as if searching him for any answer he could provide. Ichigo thought about it, he fought between the idea of seeing Orihime again with the idea of simply going to Karakura Town and making sure that she and all of his friends were safe. make sure that those Shinigami were doing there jobs right.

"How do you feel about visiting the real world?" Ichigo asked both of the girls as they looked at him in utter joy, presented by the wide and happy eyes they were staring at him with.

"YEEESS!" both girls almost screeched as Ichigo smiled at his ability to make them both so happy at what seemed to be the antithesis of what would make them happy, besides maybe a meal.

"Right we will tell Zakabe-Sama and be off, right?" Ichigo asked the two girls as they nodded in unison and saying "Yeah".

/Flashback End/

* * *

"Ichigo really is strong isn't he?" Sachi asked her sister who looked at her with an almost scathing look.

"Seriously, strong is a gross understatement, he is viewed as a God in Hueco Mundo remember, it's not only strength that got him that title" Kyota answered her sister who simply looked up at her with a smile on her face.

"I guess you're right!" Sachi answered as she turned back to the events below them, Kyota rolled her eyes and could not suppress the smile that came on to her face at her sisters antics.

Down below them Orihime continued to cry into Ichigo's chest as he dumbly stroked at her hair trying his best to soothe her however he could, after effectively being her worst fear for the last year or so. He had completely covered his arms around her form by now, feeling her becoming weak and unable to stand on her own any longer. He looked up to see why he was not being attacked by either Matsumoto or Tatsuki to find two surprises awaiting him, first was the fact that Matsumoto was actually being held back by Chad who had woven his arm around the neck of the vice-captain, she was even holding on to the arm and slightly stroking it as Chad simply looked on, with almost a hint of pink on his cheeks. Secondly was the fact that Tatsuki was standing still with what looked like tears running down her face, Ichigo could not quite understand why she would be crying, if anything she should be infuriated, but he could not think on that right now as he had a woman on his chest crying into him who needed his attention. Pushing her away slightly by her shoulders he made her look up to him and smiled down at her. It was almost as if his smile held magical powers because the second he done it Orihime's tears and sobs almost instantly stopped and she looked up at him with a small smile of her own which grew into a much warmer one.

"Inoue-san how about we talk about things now then?" Ichigo asked as Orihime looked at Ichigo's face again.

"Sure, that would be good" Orihime answered.

"Destructive Art 1: Thrust!" came a voice as Orihime was forced away from Ichigo and had to be caught by the hastily drawn hands of Tatsuki who after catching her looked at the newcomer with much surprise, this wasn't going to go down well. As the figure dropped from the sky they raised their sword high above their head.

"Getsuga…" Ichigo turned to the direction of that familiar voice, never did he think he would have to be in this kind of moment. The person he really didn't want to figt was now here and the look in his eyes showed nothing but fury. "Tenshou!" the voice finished as Ichigo's body was completely enveloped in the brilliant blue light of the attack.

"No-one attacks my family, not even it's deceased members" came the voice of Isshin as he looked towards the smoking scene that had once held the form of his former son.

"Kyota!" screamed Sachi as Kyota did not even move from where she stood.

"Don't worry about Ichigo, look" Kyota answered as Sachi looked down and did indeed notice that the smoke cleared and revealed Ichigo, completely fine and unscathed.

"Hello dad" Ichigo said casually as Isshin stared at him in what looked like fear "Good to see you again".

"The feeling is mutual" Isshin answered as he got into position again and readied himself to attack "I will not allow my previous son's body be used to harm his own family, especially not the woman that you have hurt so much!" Isshin roared as he charged in. the sounds of clashing metal resounded in the air as Sachi and Kyota observed.

"This could be interesting" Kyota said absentmindedly.

"What do you mean?" Sachi asked looking to her sister as she asked.

"That is the captain we fought with over 50 years ago Sachi" Kyota explained as both she and Sachi looked at the former captain, smiles forming on their faces, if he is as good now as he was then, he would definitely make Ichigo show some effort.

* * *

_I apologise for the lateness of this update but I'm just going to say I wont make any promises of update times, I shall just update when I can, as simple as that really, anyway I hope you guys are enjoying this story and continue to read on, until next time you guys! Bye-bye =] - Varrukh_


	11. Chapter 11 It's Me!

Blue spiritual pressure blasted through the air as it arched around a lone figure standing as if on nothing. Ichigo looked at his father after he had sent yet another Getsuga Tenshou at him, the man really was not one for accepting the fact that the attack had no affect on him. The man opposite him was still standing tall, even after launching so many attacks at him his father was still on his feet, now Ichigo knew where he had gotten his strength from. Well that was then and this was now after being amplified by both hollow and Hogyoku powers.

"You've gotten a little rusty, dad" Ichigo told his father with a slight smile on his face.

"You, creature do not get to call me dad" Isshin answered back as he stood in his same position, Zanpaktou still drawn.

"Why not? It is me after all, Ichigo Kurosaki son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki" Ichigo answered back as he could see the fury intensifying in Isshin's eyes.

'oh shit, should have waited for the right moment with that one obviously' Ichigo mentally complained

_It would appear that way, well good luck trying to explain to him now!_ the Hogyoku answered him in an almost cheerful voice.

'shut up' Ichigo mentally retaliated.

**His argument does hold water though, Ichigo, you will have to fight him if you wish to show him who you are, only then will he realise the truth **came the voice of Zangetsu from his mindscape, joining the Hogyoku.

That and also we get to have a fight! It's been too long since I got to have my power used in a fight! the voice of the hollow within Ichigo's mind complained.

**You have had your power used for the better part of a year now, it is my turn, Hogyoku if you please?** Zangetsu asked kindly to the angelic man.

_Of course _was the simple answer the Zanpaktou received.

'I like it how you guys are deciding the powers I get to use, I thought I decided?' Ichigo asked mentally as he noticed his father speeding towards him.

**Well I have been neglected for about a year now and at the risk of sounding like a child, I WANT ATTENTION!** Zangetsu complained as the Hogyoku simply chuckled and the hollow was taken aback by the sudden change in Zangetsu's usual cool demeanour.

'ok, ok' Ichigo finally conceded as he could almost physically feel Zangetsu looming over him.

"Dad, I'll make you believe that I am your son" Ichigo talked as Isshin continued towards him, Zanpaktou raised high and his face twisted in anger and hatred.

"Slice at the moon and the heavens, Zangetsu!" Ichigo called out as in his hand a massive cleaver blade formed, it's bladed edge was black whereas the flatter edge was white, with a tint of red running through it.

**Godamnit what happened to me getting attention? **Zangetsu complained as the hollow just simply laughed.

Sorry couldn't help it the hollow laughed as the Hogyoku looked at the other two with a mixture of confusion and happiness.

_And you two are his power?_ the Hogyoku asked them as his laughter reached them and calmed them both down.

**Yes, we are his power, despite appearances both myself and this hollow are as close as brothers in here, how else do you expect us to kill time when we're not in combat?** Zangetsu asked with a chuckle as the Hogyoku simply nodded in understanding, at least things would not get overly boring in here anymore.

* * *

Ichigo stood before his father in a white version of the Shinigami garment, his Zanpaktou was like a huge cleaver that had a black bandage that was coming from the end of the hilt. Isshin could not feel any spiritual pressure though, even after the release of the Zanpaktou he had expected some change in spiritual pressure, even stranger was the fact that it was a Shinigami's release. It was not like any of the Arrancar who's physical appearance usually gains them some of their former hollow attributes, and therefore releases their entire power, no this gave off no power at all. It was almost as if staring into a black void and trying to find the shred of light there.

Isshin charged forward his Zanpaktou raised high and brought it down at Ichigo, meeting metal with metal Ichigo brought up his own Zanpaktou. As they met a spark of spiritual pressure went down Isshin's blade and he felt to the slightest of extents Ichigo's raw power. Ichigo came forward this time and slashed his Zanpaktou upwards, trying to catch Isshin in his chest. Isshin simply thrust his head upwards and backwards allowing him to feel the wind of the swipe slicing across his neck. He jumped from the ground in the same position and brought his feet upwards and caught Ichigo in his chin before landing on his feet again a few feet back from where he had been standing. He began to charge spiritual pressure into his Zanpaktou as he thought about his previous meeting of blades with Ichigo. It felt like Ichigo had placed all of his spiritual pressure into his Zanpaktou and that was why it could not be felt otherwise, or so Isshin surmised.

Isshin again charged forward and connected blades with Ichigo, it was only now that he noticed it however, those eyes, although distinctly cold, almost seemed as if they were pleading, sorry or hurt in some way. This was a hollow Isshin was thinking about, they do not feel sorry or hurt, they only feel fear and hatred and hunger. He felt the spiritual pressure in the Zanpaktou now and realized that with his blade crossed over with Ichigo's their spiritual pressure's were intermixed. It was then that he began to feel the emotions that were within the spiritual pressure and there was sorrow and hurt, but there was also joy and love there too. This was too confusing for Isshin, no way could a hollow ever convey love, it was an emotion they were not accustomed to nor were they ever privy to showing it before.

Isshin jumped backwards and away from the confusing fight he was having with this creature, this was starting to mess with his head, he was beginning to believe that this was in fact Ichigo and not a hollow. He had to finish this off now and prove to himself and everyone down on the ground that this thing was a threat.

"Ichigo, I do this to put your soul to rest" Isshin said in an almost affectionate tone as he placed both hands onto the hilt of his Zanpaktou.

"Bankai" Isshin said with his eyes closed as a swirling mass of green spiritual pressure surrounded him and grew in intensity.

* * *

"Yep it looks like he is as good now as he was then" Kyota said to her sister who had lay on her stomach atop the building they had made their vantage point.

"Is that the captain who we played with when we were still full hollows?" Sachi asked as her sister turned around with a scary look upon her face.

"What do you mean play? We almost lost our lives that day Sachi" Kyota told her sister as Sachi simply looked at her with an almost innocent look on her face.

"I thought we were playing so I didn't try too hard" Sachi answered as Kyota's face became even more sinister and before long she had grabbed Sachi's cheeks and was pinching them very painfully.

* * *

The green swirling mass of spiritual pressure did eventually die down leaving Isshin to step out of his self imposed fog effect and reveal his Bankai. Isshin stood atop the air in his left hand he held a large swastika, white in colour and in his other hand he held a Zanpaktou not too dissimilar from Ichigo's Bankai, even black in colour. Between the swastika and the Zanpaktou was a long chain which was golden in colour and shimmered in the low light of the moons radiance.

"Tensa Engetsu"

Ichigo looked at the transformation of his father's Zanpaktou, so they were that closely linked in their Zanpaktou abilities were they? He was only ale to smile as he stood in place. Wrong move. Isshin seen this as a provocation, that he was viewed as not strong enough to fight this hollow that took over his son, well he was going to show it.

"Getsuga Tenshou" Isshin called out as he lifted his swastika in his hand and with spiritual energy running across all of its prongs sent it flying at Ichigo. The noise of the Getsuga was exactly the same as the screeching object closed in on Ichigo.

The racing swastika closed in on Ichigo as he raised his overly large cleaver and prepared to block the attack. As both weapons made contact Ichigo was surprised by the sheer strength behind the attack his father had just performed. The spiritual pressure around the swastika was not dissipating at all, if anything it was still strong. Ichigo looked along the golden chain and could see a green glow coming down the links of the chain and flowing into the swastika creating a green aura surrounding it, this dramatically strengthened Isshin's attack on Ichigo and forced Ichigo to take a step backwards. He then had to place his other hand on the handle of his blade so that his own Zanpaktou did not reach his face anymore than it already had.

Ichigo was surprised, his dad was surely determined to see this through. He had indeed hurt people with his old ways, his personality had become disgusting and it had even turned his own father against him. Applying his own spiritual pressure into his own blade he prepared to make an old but very familiar attack. Isshin could feel his spiritual pressure now and if he were to surmise it in any way he would have to admit if only to himself that it was the most astonishing and powerful spiritual pressure he had ever felt before. The Captain commander's was strong yes, but it was rugged and very coarse, this spiritual pressure was almost warm and gentle, as if not wishing to fight at all and only wanting to settle things peacefully. So tempting wa this idea that Isshin almost stopped his onslaught of spiritual pressure down his Zanpaktou, yet thinking about it he brought back his resolve and applied it twice-fold.

Ichigo grunted under the sudden application of even more force behind his father's blade. Ichigo had no other choice he knew exactly what to do in this situation, not that it was not going to hurt in any way shape or form. Ichigo swished his Zanpaktou outwards chanting "Getsuga Tenshou" as he done so and sent his father's swastika weapon right back at him. Isshin caught it effortlessly and turned back to Ichigo only to find him right in front of him. Zangetsu raised high and ready to strike down on his head. Isshin raised the swastika and deflected Ichigo's attack if only just and sent him over head.

"I don't want to fight you dad" Ichigo tried to reason as he landed on his feet behind his father and Isshin turned to him.

"You are no son of mine, you are using his body as a vessel in order to hurt these good people!" Isshin roared as he charger at Ichigo again throwing the swastika shuriken at Ichigo. Ichigo noticed the lack of the Getsuga Tenshou when his father threw it only to find out exactly why he had left that out.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" Isshin roared at the top of his voice as the shuriken I the air became coated in his spiritual energy and became a huge ball of green spiritual energy. Ichigo slashed at the air in front of him, even he could not stand that kind of attack without any form of deflective attack.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo cried as an arc of white light erupted from where his Zanpaktou had previously struck.

As the green and white spiritual energies connected in the air a huge explosion racked through the streets of Karakura town. Down on the ground everyone could only watch on as father and son basically went all out to kill each other. Although they could all see that Ichigo was trying his hardest not to hurt his father, even taking a few cuts and bruises in the process. Orihime had taken up holding onto her arm as she watched two people she loved fought each other, one as a father and the other as so much more than he probably realised. Rukia noticed the way Orihime was holding herself and went to comfort the girl. Walking over to Orihime she noticed how the hollows around them did not even look in their direction any more, they simply looked upwards at Ichigo and Isshin's fight, some were even down on one knee with an arm across their leg.

"Orihime, are you ok?" Rukia asked as kindly as she could considering the circumstances. It took Orihime a while to respond to her friend but when she did it was when she had looked away from an attack on Ichigo from his father. He had been cut across his chest and had put up very little resistance.

"Rukia-Chan, I'm ok I guess" Orihime answered as she looked back up to the carnage that was taking hold. Rukia joined her in her change of attention, turning her attention back to the fight that it seemed inevitable would end in a death. Regret was going to flow through this day.

* * *

Ichigo was standing opposite his father with blood dripping down his arms and his chest, soaking through to his white clothes, he was breathing heavily and was still standing.

_Why do you take such a beating Ichigo?_ the Hogyoku asked from within his mind.

That's his dad, his family, there is no way he'd hurt him, not enough to the extent of death the hollow supplied for Ichigo, much to all the entities surprise.

What? I can have my sensitive moments when I want to! the hollow complained as things finally went quiet within Ichigo's mind and he was allowed to get his mind back on this beating he was receiving.

Isshin stood opposite the body that was once his own son, it hurt him to deal such damage to the body of his son but he knew that within that mind no longer held his loving son, but that of a bloodthirsty beast. Isshin raced forwards and raised his Zanpaktou ready to slash downwards across Ichigo's stomach area, much to his surprise Ichigo grabbed onto the cloth on his Zanpaktou and threw it outwards. Isshin's attack connected and he was now standing next to his son with his Zanpaktou deeply embedded within Ichigo's gut.

"Hello dad, good to see you up close again, you've gotten old" Ichigo joked as his father looked up at him wide eyed. The clothing that covered Ichigo's top half started to rip away down the middle and fell from Ichigo's body revealing his battle scarred and toned body. The thing that caught absolutely everyone's attention was where the hollow hole was situated. It was completely filled in by what looked like a glowing crystal like substance, Isshin was instantly alarmed at this sight, Aizen had done much the same thing! He was the reason Ichigo was the way he was, the Hogyoku was the reason for his and Orihime's suffering!

"_That is where you are wrong Isshin Kurosaki" _came an almost angelic voice to Isshin's ears, only surprise he had was the fact that it had come from his son's mouth. Upon coming out of his tunnel vision of Ichigo's heart region Isshin could also see two protrusions of crystal behind Ichigo, on closer inspection he was even able to see that they were wings. Isshin looked up to the face of Ichigo and could see the change instantly, it had become much friendlier and even had a smile, as if to try and implore them all to believe he was friendly.

"And why would that be?" Isshin questioned, not even bothering to wonder how this voice knew what he was thinking, lets face it not much will always make sense if Urahara is behind the creating of it.

"_I am not the reason for your suffering, in fact you could call me your salvation"_ the voice called out from Ichigo's mouth as it looked down at Isshin with it's smile still in place.

"How so?" Isshin asked not even daring to move in case this was a ruse to make him lose his attention and give the hollow it's chance to make it's escape.

"_Well basically I gave him his memories of Inoue-San or the name at least, he knew that he cared for that name, only problem was that his mind did not put two and two together when he finally met her again. I had him accompany two young Arrancar girls on their way to a safe place in order for him to regain his humanity and once inside that oasis… your Ichigo returned" _the Hogyoku finished as Isshin's wide eyes somehow managed to get even wider, he had run his own son through?

"_Worry not, with my powers this is nothing to him, however I do ask that you do not continue to fight him because he refuses to hurt you no matter how much you hurt him, and if you continue against my better judgement… _**I_ will kill you_**" the Hogyoku finished as it's voice faded from it's angelic one back into Ichigo's mid speech.

As soon as the voice had left Ichigo his body slumped forward and the crystalline wings on his back went back into his body. His breathing became heavy as he could still feel the Zanpaktou through his body.

'Heh, guess I don't get to talk to Orihime then do I?' Ichigo asked himself.

_Of course you shall, imbecile do you truly think that with my power this will kill you, I am almost offended_ the Hogyoku answered him as Ichigo could feel a warmness taking over his body and eventually forcing the Zanpaktou out of his body.

The darkness that Ichigo had been subject to finally lifted as he opened his eyes only to look at his father, who was standing in position unable to think up any logical response.

* * *

"Hello dad" Ichigo said quickly, just waiting for his father to attack him. Nothing happened however, his father's body began to droop as the spiritual pressure around him dropped and his Bankai deactivated to its natural form. Ichigo could see it in his father's eyes, he was happy, he was more than happy. He was elated, his son was back. Zangetsu disappeared from Ichigo's hand, dissolving into individual spirit particles and absorbing into his body. He smiled at his father and in the instant he had done that he was completely enveloped in his father's arms.

Isshin's tear strewn eyes told Ichigo the whole story, it was clear that things had not been easy for him with the absence of his only son. They stood on air for a small while before they descended back to the ground again, the explanations could wait till another day. They landed amongst the people they had previously left and Ichigo was very promptly wrapped up in a pair of arms belonging to Orihime and Isshin was also very promptly hit over the head by a feminine hand.

"Ow damnit! Who was that?" Isshin complained as he looked around only to fins Yoruichi with a smile on her face.

"We told you he wasn't dead!" Yoruichi said to him in a ' I told you so' kind of manner.

"Yes I see that now, I'm sorry Yoruichi, Urahara" Isshin called out as Urahara came out from the wall he was hiding behind.

"How did you know I was there?" Urahara complained as he walked up to them.

"Please Yoruichi in Karakura town and without you? That does not happen very much!" Isshin joked receiving glares from Yoruichi.

"Isshin stop where you are right now" Yoruichi warned as Isshin was able to pick up the menace in her voice, but he was too happy to care just now and kept applying petrol to the fire.

"Everyone can see it, might as well just admit it now guys, it happened long before you even left Soul Society, or was that maybe the reason?" Isshin joked eventually receiving a punch to his face, with a venting Yoruichi behind him.

"I said stop!" Yoruichi yelled at him as Urahara simply stood back out of the way, you do not mess with a woman when they are in a bad mood, that was the fundamental rule. Follow that rule and you get to stay bruise free for longer, or at least that sometimes worked with Yoruichi.

"Okay okay I'll stop, was just having too much fun to stop at all" Isshin answered as he smiled at them and both were compelled to smile back at him too.

Ichigo held on to Orihime as she held on to him. This moment did not require words, the simple understanding that they were both here and this was really happening was all both of them needed. Words would simply tarnish this moment. Everyone staid silent as they allowed the reunion of the teens to take place, Yoruichi, Urahara and Isshin had since stopped their joking argument and had stood around Ichigo and Orihime all with smiles on their faces. What no-one did notice however was that Urahara and Yoruichi were standing very close to each other and maybe, just maybe she had worked her arm around his waist line. His arm however was atop her shoulder and lay there as if just resting happily on the warm skin of the beautiful woman, well everyone knew now, might as well show them they are right.

* * *

Everyone had parted way only a few moments ago and now Ichigo, Isshin and Orihime were walking on the way to the Kurosaki residence, Ichigo turned to both his father and Orihime to see them still continuing on the same direction. They were all walking in a comfortable silence, Orihime even had a slight bounce in her step as she walked right beside Ichigo and a little pink hue across her cheeks.

"Uh guys?" Ichigo asked as both his father and Orihime turned to him Isshin with a happy smile and Orihime with an almost identical mirror of Isshin's smile.

"Yes Ichigo?" Orihime asked and Ichigo managed to even notice the missing suffix in his name, surprising as he had always believed her to address people otherwise, he wasn't complaining it showed that she had came out of her shell a bit.

"Shouldn't we walk Inoue home then go home? You know manners and all?" Ichigo asked trying to be serious even though he knew of the horrors that lay in wait for him at home. Namely two sisters who believed him dead. Isshin and Orihime exchanged looks and both looked back at Ichigo with smiles plastered across their faces.

"Orihime lives with us now Ichigo, she is an honorary Kurosaki" Isshin answered for him as Ichigo hit the floor, the implications of Kurosaki Orihime hitting him full force, damnit this was not how it was meant to happen! He already had an idea how to make that happen!

Ichigo lifted himself off the ground as Orihime giggled at him lightly and Isshin just simply looked at him with a smile on his face much more on the way to a creepy smile. Isshin realised what Ichigo must have thought and upon looking at Orihime he noticed she looked as if she had no idea, good in your own time Ichigo, she in an honorary Kurosaki remember she is not part of the family, well not yet.

"I shall go on ahead and make sure that Karin and Yuzu know what is going on before you just waltz in there after being dead to them for over a year" Isshin told Ichigo and noticed the hurt that screeched across Ichigo's face at that comment.

"Do they hate me that much for leaving them?" Ichigo asked in an almost inaudible voice as he stopped completely in the middle of the path, it was then that Isshin realised his error.

"NO, no not at all Ichigo, I mean that you have been dead to them for a year, in your absence they believed you to be dead, in the afterlife" Isshin explained as Ichigo's head remained low. Orihime walked over to him and placed her hand under his chin forcing to look down at her. Yellow eyes met blue/grey eyes and Ichigo smiled at the way Orihime looked at him, it was with only caring and compassion, Ichigo did not think Orihime even knew how to provoke violence.

"Ichigo, those girls love their big brother, I think they can only be thrilled if they see that you are alive and back with them, I know I would have been" Orihime finished with her own voice fading slightly. Ichigo noticed this and could see the tears forming in Orihime's eyes, he had hit a vital spot and he hated himself for it.

Ichigo grabbed Orihime's shoulders and brought her into his embrace, she needed comfort and as the idiot who had opened that particular wound he felt obliged to be the one that done it. Orihime did not complain as she simply entwined her own arms around his waist and held onto Ichigo tightly. Isshin stood simply watching and was ready to leave before he felt two very familiar spiritual pressures, fifty years older but still he recognised it.

"You two can come out now" Isshin called out as two women dropped down on Ichigo's side of the trio, Sachi and Kyota made sure to drop down quickly, they had been spotted there was no reason to try and hide their presence any longer.

"Hello Captain-San, you're looking well" Kyota said to Isshin as she smiled at the man, Isshin had reached for his Zanpaktou yet again, but the blue haired girl to his left raised her hands in surrender.

"We don't want to fight Captain-San, honest we're actually happy to see you!" Sachi said for both girls, Kyota mentally hated her sister right now, she was not meant to say that!

"Ohh is that so? And why would that be?" Isshin asked his hand still over the hilt of his Zanpaktou and his eyebrow now raised.

"You made us stronger Captain-San! When we got back to Hueco Mundo we woke up and were Arrancar!" Sachi told him with a smile on her pretty face.

"What Sachi is trying to say is that, we thank you for giving us the basics that we needed to survive in Hueco Mundo" Kyota finished before her sister, earning her a pout.

"I wanted to say that Kyota!" Sachi complained with her pout still in place, Isshin had to smile at that, the girls were just like, well girls. They may seem like young women but they behaved much like little girls.

"Is that the only reason you are here then? To thank me?" Isshin asked them his hand leaving his Zanpaktou, grateful that he did not have to battle the two pretty looking girls.

"Nope we're also here because Ichigo is" Kyota answered again, not receiving any response except a nod from the other young woman.

"And why would my son have two Arrancar following him to the real world?" Isshin asked them becoming suspicions of their honest intentions.

"He saved us from the harsh life of Hueco Mundo, we love him, he is the closest thing to what we might consider a father" Kyota told Isshin as Ichigo and Orihime heard that last statement.

"Dad they are not lying to you, I did save them and they are far from anything to worry about, I already told them not to cause any problems in this world" Ichigo informed his father as he and Orihime continued to hold each other.

"And how do you know that they will not do anything in this world? How can you be entirely sure?" Isshin asked his attention now focused completely on the safety of his family, all of it.

"They would not defy me dad, trust me" Ichigo answered with a smile over Orihime's head, which he then went on to stroke gently.

"Exactly no hollow would defy the God of Hollows!" Sachi declared happily as she smiled not noticing the astonished looks of both Orihime and Isshin and the ' oh shit' look on Ichigo's face.

"Damnit Sachi, could you not see that Ichigo was trying to be vague and not give that information away!" Kyota shouted as she hit the back of Sachi's head, earning a little whimper of pain as she done so.

"Kyota you're mean to me!" Sachi complained as she held her head, she however felt a soft hand stroking the sore bit on her head and turned to see the orange haired woman standing next to her stroking her head gently.

"Is that where it hurts?" Orihime asked gently as she gently touched the area on Sachi's head. Sachi nodded in silence as Orihime brought her head up to her face and kissed the spot on the girls head. Astonishing all of those who were there at that moment and time. Ichigo however was happy, Orihime accepted the two girls, that was a good thing, he really did not want the three of them to be in any form of conflict over him. That kind of situation seemed too painful to even consider. Sachi smiled up at Orihime.

"Does that mean that you are our mommy now?" Sachi asked innocently, there was another thud as Ichigo hit the deck for the second time in under half an hour. Isshin could only laugh at his son's reaction as Orihime's face turned a nice colour of pink at the sudden question, regaining her composure and seeing Ichigo still down she leaned down to Sachi's ear and whispered

"We'll see what happens, yeah?" she asked with a wink as she returned from Sachi and helped Ichigo get back up onto his feet, dusting him off, well dusting his torso off, since it was still without his coat now. Orihime revelled in the brickwork that claimed to be Ichigo's body, she didn't know muscles could be as hard.

"I'm away to inform Karin and Yuzu about these new developments" Isshin said in an almost exasperated tone. Honestly, this was going to be a fun one to try and explain to the girls, not only was big brother home but so too was two girls who claimed he was like their father. Things were going to get complicated before they got any better. Ichigo turned to Orihime who's hands were still dusting off his body, even though there really was none left.

"Inoue-san I think you got it all" Ichigo joked to her as she withdrew her hands quickly with a slight blush on her face, she was enjoying that thank you very much!

Orihime began to walk in the same direction as before trying desperately to get the heat that was coating all over her face to go away, to no avail. Ichigo stood still for a second before he too fell in line and walked behind her before beginning to catch up to her and walk at her side. Sachi and Kyota eventually moved from their positions too falling into step directly behind Ichigo and Orihime. Oh what a sight that must have been to watch walking down the street. A lone beautiful girl walking along by herself seeming to almost talk to herself, even if they could actually see Ichigo and the two girls it would be a surprising sight to see. One girl walking down the street in her normal clothes, nothing suspicious about her at all. Then the two girls behind her who were rather scantily dressed in their Arrancar clothes, maybe just a tad suspicious there, then there was Ichigo who walked down the street with his top half naked to the world and his muscles shining in the lunar light, sweat had never looked so good Orihime thought to herself. They were a rather suspicious group if anyone could see them, as such no-one really could and Orihime was granted the right to see Ichigo all to herself for now.

* * *

The walk home had been in silence and as they reached the front door Ichigo went first and opened the gate allowing the three girls to go in before him, whoever said that hollows were not chivalrous? They could be if they wanted to, they just don't like doing it. He walked in after them and walked up the pathway seeing that the three girls had stopped and Orihime stood off the path to the left where Sachi and Kyota mirrored her position on the other side, they already knew what to do or maybe it was simply out of respect as they knew what was coming. Ichigo walked up to his front door and knocked on it three times and stood back, just waiting to be kicked up and down the pathway to the house.

The door slowly opened and as the light from inside was able to escape Ichigo was able to see two heads poking around the door one had black hair as the other had brown hair.

"Hey girls" Ichigo smiled to his two sisters as both of their eyes widened, it was him!

Both girls ran out of the house in under milliseconds, they smashed into Ichigo harder than he had expected and caused them all to fall to the ground. A mixture of tears and laughter escaped the two girls as they hugged into their brother tightly, Ichigo never knew that coming home would have him struggling to breath through all of these hugs. Orihime smiled at the scene before her, she had not seen either girl so happy in a long time now, she had been with them for at least a month now but she had never seen s mile on Karin's face and Yuzu's was just beautiful.

Ichigo smiled down at his two little sisters as they hugged into him, scared to let go in case he would disappear yet again.

"Ichi-nii where have you beeeen!" shouted the small voice of Yuzu as she cried into him now. Ichigo placed a hand on her head and she stopped crying for a moment in order to look up at him.

"I've been away to a horrible place, but don't worry I'm home again and I even made some new friends" Ichigo told both girls as they dragged their eyes away from their loving brother to the two women who stood opposite Orihime with smiles on both of their faces.

"who are you?" Karin asked instantly as she looked at both girls, there was no anger in her voice but there was trace amounts of suspicion laced in it.

"We are humble servants of Ichigo" Kyota said quickly before Sachi was able to say anything that would instantly get them into any trouble with the two girls. This was Ichigo's family and since they felt as if they were Ichigo's daughters they wanted to get on good terms with their younger aunts.

"why are you his servants?" Yuzu asked in a very accusing way looking at her brother while asking, this caused a rather large sweat mark to appear on Ichigo's head.

"No no Yuzu they aren't my slaves! Honest! These are my two friends I made" Ichigo tried to argue waving his arms in front of him as if it would make things better.

"Yuzu, Karin don't worry, they are nice people" came a soft voice to their left, all turned to look at Orihime who had spoken those words.

Ichigo was surprised when both of his sisters looked to Orihime and nodded to her, then they got off of Ichigo and allowed him to get back onto his feet.

"Hey how come you guys listen to Orihime and never listened to me?" Ichigo asked mock pouting as he done so, eliciting giggles from both Sachi and Kyota and a slight blush from Orihime because of the name Ichigo had called her, he had called her by her first name. Ichigo however was oblivious to this meaningful blunder to Orihime.

Both of the girls simply looked at him with smiles on their faces, Ichigo noted with surprise the smile Karin had, it was nice to see her smiling. Mentally he thanked Orihime for whatever she had done with the girls.

"It's because she is a girl and you were an idiot ichi-nii" Yuzu answered for them both as she started giggling at Ichigo's stung reaction which consisted of his jumping backwards and feigning hurt.

"You cut me deep girls" Ichigo joked as he held his hand over his heart.

Both girls walked back into the house where Isshin stood at the door waiting for the rest of the party to enter also, Ichigo indicated for Sachi and Kyota to go an ahead and as they done so Orihime began to follow them too. She felt a hand on her wrist and turned to see Ichigo looking down on her with one of his very uncharacteristic smiles on his face.

"For whatever you done for those girls Orihime, thank you" Ichigo told her as he bent down in order to give her a kiss on her cheek. Orihime froze in that position as her face turned as red as a vibrant rose, perfectly in blossom, damn Ichigo could think this stuff up pretty well.

* * *

Ichigo released Orihime and had to stifle his chuckle as he watched Orihime standing in place almost as if unable to move, it was then that he thought to himself that he should not be acting this casual with Orihime, especially not after what she had been through on account of him. Ichigo cleared his throat and brought Orihime out of her trance, she looked up to him and could see the troubled look that he had, he was going to say something important or devastating wasn't he? He loved someone and needed her help to get the person to notice him didn't he? This was where she fit in perfectly, after all she would not refuse anyone anything would she?

"Orihime…" Ichigo called out softly as he looked into her eyes that were beginning to tear up, damnit had he really been that bad? He really did hate himself right now. Orihime notice again his use of her first name, that probably meant that he was calling her this because she was an 'honorary' Kurosaki and Ichigo now viewed her as a sister. That was so unfair, why did this have to happen? She finally gets him back and the way things were looking he was just going to break her again. Ichigo got down on one knee and held her hand and looked up to her now surprised face.

Wait, wait maybe there was something more to the way that he was acting. His face betrayed nothing now however as his yellow eyes stared at her in almost endearment.

"I don't know how I can say this, so I will do my best and you can decide how you feel afterwards" Ichigo talked as if he was unsure about this, that was a step backwards for Orihime, Ichigo had always been one to go forward, if he was beaten he would come back stronger and eventually win. That was just the way Ichigo was.

"I don't think I can ever apologise enough for what I have put you through in the past year, my time as a hollow I was worse than horrible to you, my mentality believed you to be my nemesis and my hollow nature took advantage of that. I do wish to tell you that I am sorry but like I said I do not think that it will cut it. I love you Orihime but I don't know if you will forgive me" Ichigo finished not realising what he had just said, only when he saw the absolute shock on Orihime's face did he realise. Thinking about what he had just said he mentally face palmed, too soon idiot!

"What did you say Ichigo?" Orihime asked as she was able to find her voice, even if it was just a high pitched squeal almost. Ichigo knew the goat was up, if he was to lie now and say that he did not love her then it would lead to yet an other version of misunderstanding and make things awkward between them, and since they are living in the same house awkwardness is out of the question.

"I said I love you, Orihime" Ichigo affirmed as he looked to her with his eyes not once ever averting away from her, making her see that he was not lying to her.

"You did" Orihime said as if she was in deep concentration. She looked up to him with a sad expression on her face and a sad smile on her face "that's not fair Ichigo, this is a dream isn't it? This cant be real, its too perfect to be real" Orihime said as small tears began to trickle down her face and she retracted her hand from Ichigo's and held it across her other arm. Ichigo stayed kneeling on the ground, completely taken aback by Orihime's response it was not what he had expected which was a slap or to be told to forget all about it, no. she thought she was dreaming and the way she talked it was a nice dream.

Ichigo got up from the ground and while doing so wove his arms around Orihime's waist, lifting her up into the air so that their faces were right across from each other, Orihime's face again brightened that beautiful red and Ichigo this time smiled.

"This is the best dream I've ever had" Orihime spoke in a sleepy state as she smiled at Ichigo.

"It is not Orihime, because this is not a dream" Ichigo told her as he closed the distance between both of them and captured her lips in his own. They were soft and warm and tasted of, strawberries? Huh ironic. Their lips moved in sync until Ichigo felt Orihime's lips failing to move against his own, opening his eyes he saw Orihime completely knocked out. Orihime was sleeping deeply and the blush on her face was evident but not quite as prominent, this blush was more out of surprise, Ichigo did not fear about reactions however because as he held her he could see the smile that wove it's way onto her face.

"That was so nice Ichigo" Orihime called out in her sleep as she resumed sleep again.

Ichigo smiled and lifted her up, placing his arms under her shoulders and knees, supporting her bridal style. He walked into his house carrying Orihime and could see the approving smile that his father gave him from his seat on the armchair in front of the television, he also noted the absence of the four other girls.

"Where is everyone else?" Ichigo asked his father just low enough so not to awaken Orihime.

"Karin and Yuzu showed those two other girls where they could sleep, they are sleeping in Orihime's room with her, for obvious reasons" Isshin lightly joked as Ichigo only smiled at the comment, managing to take it in good spirits.

"Ok so where is Orihime's room?" Ichigo asked as his father lifted himself from his seat.

"Sorry Ichigo but after you were basically viewed as never coming back I felt part responsible as a relative of yours to look after Orihime, that and the fact that I am the strongest Shinigami present in this town. She got your bedroom as I believed you not to ever come back here, at least not any time soon" Isshin finished as he walked towards the stairs.

"That's alright dad I can fully understand why things have went the way they have, don't worry we'll make this work, I'll make sure to stay around longer and help you look after our family" Ichigo told his father as Isshin simply looked at Ichigo happily.

"Make sure that you do, that girl you hold there has been through a lot, don't make her go through more, I don't want to see pain reflected on that face that has become like a daughter to me" Isshin said as Ichigo could almost physically touch the care coming from his fathers voice.

"I'm going to bed now Ichigo, I would offer you my bed but I know that you'd probably prefer to sleep on the couch to be nicer to me?" Isshin asked with a slight light heartedness in his voice.

"Yeah you're right dad" Ichigo agreed as he began to follow his father upstairs ready to put Orihime into his old bed.

* * *

As he reached his door he could hear as Yuzu and Karin told Sachi and Kyota all about themselves and about their lives. The two Arrancar girls were listening very intently, trying to learn as much about the family of their leader and more about him too. Ichigo smiled to himself at the level of interest that the two Arrancar girls showed about him, but also how quickly his sisters had accepted both the other girls even though they were technically classed as enemies. He felt movements within his arms and looked down to the form of Orihime as she had slightly woken up. She smiled up at him through bleary eyes and then proceeded to wrap her arms around Ichigo's waist in order to get comfortable, before unbelievably falling asleep again in his arms. Damn how much sleep did she need?

Ichigo chuckled as he walked into his room oblivious to the silence that had swept through the house as all four girls had stopped their conversation. They all had a much more interesting topic to think and later talk about, Ichigo going into his room with a very beautiful girl in his arms. Ichigo walked into his room to find it somewhat different from the last time he had been in it, what had he expected? She was the owner of this room now and she wasn't exactly going to keep it the same way he had left it. There was a large bed against the window that looked slightly bigger than his bed had been with a more intricate design on it, the carvings in the wood seemed almost beautiful and as he took a closer look he noticed the design of strawberries on the bed.

'Is there something about taking the pun in my name to whole new levels?' Ichigo inwardly complained.

_I don't know I think it is rather impressive and you should feel more flattered than annoyed _the Hogyoku answered him mentally.

'What do you mean, the taste of her lips strawberries, the design on her bed strawberries, it has to be a play on my name' Ichigo again mentally complained.

_I can't believe I never noticed how dense you can be Ichigo, right ok then I'll explain this so that you don't embarrass yourself. Your name and strawberry look exactly the same in writing right? And this must mean that her only way of remembering you has been through that certain fruit. So what the strawberry really symbolises is her devotion to your memory and even in this case her devotion to you, even though you had become a monster she still loved you, love is not an emotion easily broken, she has stayed devoted to you for all of this time_ the Hogyoku finally finished as a shocked Ichigo stood rooted in the place before his bed with the subject of their conversation smiling while asleep into his chest. Those words definitely had an impact on Ichigo as he looked down at the sleeping form of Orihime he could not help but feel a tinge of happiness spread through his body, she loved him did she?

_I don't see why though, quite obvious she could have any man she could want_ the Hogyoku interjected as a vein popped in Ichigo's head, intended response met!

'The hell do you mean by that!' Ichigo yelled back to the Hogyoku as it simply laughed at Ichigo's response as he fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Yo king what's the probl….. Oh well done king, took you long enough to figure it out his hollow called out as it could see Orihime in Ichigo's arms and even the smile she had.

**He has a point Ichigo, what took you so long?** Zangetsu asked as Ichigo was trying very hard not to shout out in the real world and only direct his words to his mind.

'SHUT UP! I never had the chance to actually get to know her well before everything happened' Ichigo told them as he still stood in place in the middle of his room.

_I only joked Ichigo, all that I say now is that you treat her well I can feel her hearts desire and it is nothing more than to be with you, you and you alone are all that her heart truly desires_ the Hogyoku told Ichigo.

'I see' Ichigo answered back softly as he smiled down to Orihime, wow you really do love me don't you?

_That's it? Just I see? You really are dense you know that?_ the Hogyoku joked to him as Ichigo simply ignored him.

'Yeah I know I'm dense, but right now I couldn't care less' Ichigo said as he began to lay Orihime out on the bed. Once she had left his arms he lifted her legs slightly to allow him the space to place her legs under the covers. He lened down to her and placed his forehead against hers.

"I wont ever leave you Orihime, never again will I leave you" Ichigo told her as he quickly planted a kiss on her cheek and began to prepare the other two beds which were luckily enough found in his old closet, after setting them both out he put the blankets and covering over them too.

"You can come out now girls I know you've been there since I came in here" Ichigo called out as he could almost mentally tell that all four girls had gone 'How the hell did he do that?'

All four girls walked into the room with their heads hung low expecting to get an angry Ichigo in their faces for peeking on him during what had to be a very intimate moment for him.

"Hello, Sachi that's your bed, Kyota that's yours" Ichigo said as he indicated both beds, all of the girls looked up the see the smile on Ichigo's face as he stood up tall again and began to walk out of the room.

"Come on girls lets allow these girls the sleep they require and go to bed too, you guys have school tomorrow anyway!" Ichigo joked to his two little sisters as they face dropped at his sudden outburst and choice of words.

"Ichi-Nii that's not fair! How come you don't have to go to school!" Yuzu asked as she gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"Who said I wasn't going to school? I'm going back tomorrow" Ichigo answered in a smile as he left his room while pushing the two girls out at the same time. That definitely had the two girls stumped.

"How will you do that when everyone thinks you're dead?" Karin asked quickly as she looked up to her big brother again.

Ichigo gave her a gentle smile before he knelt down to their level and grabbed their shoulders, bringing them into a hug.

"That's why I'm going to see Urahara just now, you girls get to bed and I'll see you tomorrow when you get up ok?" Ichigo told his sisters softly.

"Okay ichi-Nii" Yuzu supplied for both girls as they went to their rooms and Ichigo made his way out of his house towards Urahara's shop.

* * *

_Well here is the next chapter I apologise for the long wait and will try to get them out to you much quicker in the future. I also apologise if I have done the reunion with Ichigo's family very poorly. Other than that I hope you enjoy and I shall see you guys in the next chapter. As always please R&R thank you! Your author - Varrukh_


	12. Chapter 12 Showcase Of Power

Moving down the stairs Ichigo was confronted with the figure of his father beginning to move up the same stairs be had just descended. Moving to the side to allow his father to pass him Ichigo was surprised when a hand was placed on his right shoulder; he turned to look at his father and could see a look that almost seemed pleading coming from the man.

"Whatever you do Ichigo, I beg that you please never leave this family again. I realise you are not doing so right now but understand, your presence or lack of for that matter seriously affected the girls, _all_ of them" Isshin told his son as he lifted his hand from his son's shoulder and continued his ascent up the stairs. Ichigo stood still after those words from his father, although said without the intention of hurt it did not help that it hurt to hear those things. He felt his heart tighten as those words processed in his mind, he felt monstrous. Just thinking about what he had done in the past disgusted him, he had threatened those close to him with nothing less than anger and contempt. He knew now that although Orihime may very well have said that she forgave him and had actually said that she was happy that he was home, she could still be afraid of him or even hate him. God only knows that he'd deserve it; she simply would not make it obvious that those feelings were harboured within her that made it almost certain that if Orihime felt that way then everyone else was a shoe in to feel the same way.

Ichigo sighed heavily to himself, he was really going to have to try hard to get back into the good books of everyone and that was not going to be easy.

Damn right Kingy, you got some trek ahead of you! Shiro yelled from within his mind as Zangetsu had to restrain himself from going over and hitting the alabaster man, very hard. The Hogyoku noticed this restraint that Zangetsu had and silently commended him for it before talking out.

_I'm afraid that the hollow is correct, sometimes the good has to be taken with the bad, Ichigo will have to try and work out his relationships with the humans again in order for them to accept him again_ the Hogyoku lamented to both spirits as neither the hollow nor the Zanpaktou spirit's faces changed at all, both at a loss as to what to say. _We must allow Ichigo this chance to become more independent, he does not need us interfering on his personal life, until you need us, good luck sir_ the Hogyoku said before it closed of the connection to Ichigo's psyche. Ichigo was surprised, for the first time in a while he was alone in his mind, for the last year or so he had had the Hogyoku in his mind as a kind of companion that he could communicate with. He felt alone.

We're still here you idiot, just giving you space to fix things is all! Shiro yelled to him again before the sound of a hit could be heard. Damnit Zangetsu! That hurt! Shiro complained as he held his hand over his throbbing head the Hogyoku was in front of his soon too and had grabbed onto the front of the clothing that Shiro wore and began dragging him away.

_Sorry sir, we shall stay quiet from now on, I'll make sure of it_ the Hogyoku finished off sounding almost sinister as his gaze trailed over to Shiro and the hollow screamed in terror from the look. I'm sorry! He yelled while being dragged away. _Nope too late! Until next time Ichigo_ the Hogyoku laughed as Shiro's screams continued until they died away.

Ichigo really did not want to know what the Hogyoku was doing o the poor hollow within his mind, never thought he'd refer to the hollow as a poor thing before, it even managed to register a slight amount of amusement from Ichigo as he chuckled lightly before walking down the stairs and exiting his house. He was basically viewed as a God amongst the scariest of beings most people had never seen, and he was going to struggle to get some people to like him. Some things were just so much harder than they should be.

* * *

Ichigo walked at a casual pace towards Urahara's store, it was not as if he had to be there in a certain amount of time, the damn shopkeeper tended to be up at almost any hour. He was allowed this opportunity to see just how his town had changed in the year in which he had been away, his conclusion? Not at all. It was funny how the town seemed to stay in exactly the same way as it had before he had left to rescue Orihime. What was also nice about this leisurely walk was that he was able to do it in relative peace; Hueco Mundo was a place where if you lost your train of thought for even a few moments you could be beaten, no matter how strong you were. To have the ability to just happily walk through the streets of Karakura town with little worries in his mind about his safety made him feel all the more at home.

From above his position he could hear the screams of pained souls and looked up to see the darkness of a Garganta being opened and ripping away at the sky with the aid of some Gillian. Ichigo inwardly sighed, that thing about little worries came back to him reminding him that although chances were slim they were still there. Ichigo closed his eyes and gathered spiritual pressure across his face and in a sweeping clawed movement of his right hand called his mask across his face. The horned mask that had overtaken his previous ones he used to posses fit perfectly over most of his head and acted slightly like a helmet now too. The ambient spiritual pressure around him began to vibrate and droned out too, Ichigo tossed his head back and opening the maw of his mask let loose one of the loudest hollow cries that he ever made and ever heard for that matter. The ground shook from the large roar that he loosened onto the hordes of hollows and they all began to fall back as they retreated from the threatening power behind that roar, it wasn't a speculation of loudest roar was strongest, it was the roar was accompanied with an impressive amount of spiritual pressure, about captain level.

The hollows made their hasty retreat at the oppressive nature of that cry and fell back through the tear in the sky before the Gillian themselves closed the tear and retreated back through themselves. Ichigo allowed his mask to fall from his face and felt a spiritual pressure closing in on his position, after sensing the nature of the spiritual pressure and the owner of it he knew what he was to expect whenever they arrived. Standing straight again, he went to dust himself off and realised that he had neglected to lift up his coat from his house, wait when had he exactly lost his white coat? Well it didn't matter now because the owner of the spiritual pressure had made their presence known by dropping down right in front of Ichigo.

"Hello again, did you miss me that much already did you?" Ichigo asked jokingly as the owner of the spiritual pressure turned to him and revealed who they were "Tatsuki-Chan" Ichigo finished as the girl looked to him with much hate in her eyes, and also a great degree of distaste, too soon? Ichigo asked himself in his mind.

"I came to find the source of the hollow spiritual pressure in this area and when I get here all I find is your disgraceful ass, guess I'll head home then" Tatsuki said to him through clenched teeth as she turned on her toes and prepared to jump. She was stopped when she felt a hand grabbing at her left wrist and looked down to see a tanned hand had grabbed onto her.

"Please Tatsuki-Chan at least talk to me" Ichigo asked the back of Tatsuki as he noticed that her shoulders tightened at the way Ichigo talked to her as if they were still as close as when they were children. Tatsuki growled at him and yanked her arm out of his grip before she turned to Ichigo fully; those hate filled and angry eyes still present.

"You got a lot of nerve talking to me as if we were still friends" Tatsuki seethed to him as she took a step forward but was surprised when Ichigo did not back away from her but instead stood his ground. She made a fist of her right hand and ploughed it right into Ichigo's face and was yet again surprised when Ichigo's left hand came up just as quickly to grab her fist and stop it dead in its tracks.

"I wish we could still be friends though" Ichigo answered with hurt evident in his voice, Tatsuki could not care any less however as she brought her fist back to herself and rubbed her knuckles with her left hand.

"Then you should not have said those things to Orihime, you know that I viewed her as my sister, what do you expect me to do when you threaten her? Do you expect me to simply forgive you and pretend that all of this stuff had never happened? I will not let you away from this one easy!" Tatsuki had eventually raised her voice to the level where ever word she spat at Ichigo hurt him more and more until he could feel his heart hurting at the way his friend verbally destroyed him. She was not done though.

"Orihime may act like she is ok with you but in actual fact she is terrified of you! She is just too nice to tell you, when you came back you gave her a glimpse of a chance she never had before, soon enough she will realise that she still fears you and will hate you just like I do for what you put her through." Tatsuki finished off. She had noticed that halfway through the second part of her yell he had dropped is head almost as if accepting the verbal bombardment like he deserved it. The second part of the yell had been the spark required to light the fuse and the emotional bomb of Ichigo exploded.

"I KNOW THAT VERY WELL TATSUKI-CHAN! IT IS THE ONE THING THAT I FEAR NOW, THAT I CANNOT FIX THE PROBLEMS THAT I CAUSED AND THAT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO HAVE FRIENDS AGAIN! DO YOU THINK IT HAS BEEN EASY FOR ME! DO YOU THINK I ENJOYED ONE MINUTE BEING COMPLETLEY BLOODTHIRSTY AND WITHOUT A CARE FOR ANYONE AND THE NEXT REGRETTING THE THINGS THAT I HAD DONE! I CANNOT APOLOGISE ENOUGH TO ANY OF YOU I KNOW THAT AND I HATE IT! I DONT KNOW ANY WAYS THAT I CAN EVER MAKE IT UP TO EVERYONE, BUT BY GOD I AM GOING TO FIND A WAY!" Ichigo roared to Tatsuki as she took a few steps back from the verbal explosion that was Kurosaki Ichigo. Never in all of the time had she known him over a year ago had he ever exploded in this kind of way. He kept himself in reserve too much and as a result no-one ever knew what he was really thinking nor what was really on his mind.

She had just witnessed it all though, she had seen the pain that had literally danced across his face as he exploded like that, but she also saw the regret that he felt. Had she been anyone else then she might have given in easily there and then, but being that she took her self proclaimed responsibility to Orihime much more seriously than she regarded their previous relationship she was not going to be easily persuaded.

"Then you will just have to find ways to apologise to all of us then wont you?" Tatsuki asked him with a glare before she turned on her toes again and without any chance of getting stopped again activated Shunko and left Ichigo with his hand outstretched towards her retreating figure.

"Tatsuki-Chan! please don't go!" Ichigo yelled out but already knew that she would not hear him, he let his hand fall to his side as his head fell in defeat now, Tatsuki was going to be a hard nut to crack, that he knew but he never expected half of what she had said to him. Fair enough he knew about Orihime and was not too surprised even if he did go into a yelling fit at the mention of it. He let out a breath he was unaware he had even been holding and generated a deep sigh. Holding his head in his hand he went over things in his head, he was hoping that he could go to the Urahara shop and not get verbally annihilated by those there, but in his current mood now, he no longer cared to be brutally honest. He started his trek to the Urahara shop again with much less of a happy stride in his step.

'Honestly Ichigo, I can't believe that you allowed that woman to walk all over you like that, you've definitely changed for the worst, we really got to work on that' a figure atop a building not far from where Ichigo and Tatsuki had their argument thought to themselves.

Tatsuki walked away feeling worse than what she really should have done, the idiot had threatened Orihime with death in the past and as such he deserved no better himself. Then why did she feel so bad after saying such things to him, he deserved to hear all that didn't he? The things he had done were far beyond reproach and he would have to do something truly spectacular to make her respect him again, far less actually like him at all. Why is it that after hearing what he had said and then completely ignoring it and leaving did she feel so bad, the look in his eye had been one of complete destruction, he never gave that look. Beaten maybe but then he remedied that by coming back from whatever hardship it was and beating it thoroughly. No she would stick to her guns and make sure Ichigo had to do something exceptional before she would ever trust him again. With that thought in mind she continued onwards towards her home where her bed awaited her, she did need to sleep before she went back to school obviously.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo **_

Zakabe was walking towards the tech department of Las Noches in order to do his personal surveillance of the human world; he would have gone to the world himself if it was not for the fact that he was the King of Hueco Mundo. He stepped over some of the rubble within the great hall of Las Noches that was still not cleared up, it was not due to laziness or lack of consideration, and it was just simply that there was that much destruction that it was hard to clear it all up in the last few days. Or what was classed as days in Hueco Mundo. Zakabe remembered all too well what had been the cause of all this devastation, the clash that had seen two titans in the hollow world meet and fight.

_/Flashback/_

Zakabe and Volak's ceros fought for dominance over each other with vibrant red and deep black forcing against each other on whole new levels of power. Volak was known for his brute power and his ability to use it but Zakabe was better known for it and his greater access of power too that gave him an advantage over Volak. This became increasingly clear as Zakabe's cero began to overpower Volak's and he was forced to abandon this lost venture, using Sonido Volak went over to the large hole in the wall caused by the resultant explosion and went to leap out of it before he realised that Zakabe was right beside him. Volak lifted his Zanpaktou just in time in order to stop a devastating downward stroke of Zakabe's Zanpaktou. Volak felt himself becoming dug into the ground due to the power that Zakabe exerted on his Zanpaktou, pushing down as hard as he possibly could, which was pretty damn hard.

Volak pointed with his left index finger towards the stomach of Zakabe and began creating a cero pointed right at the abdominal region of Zakabe's body. Sure of himself in making a tactical calculation he failed to notice the other cero that had been charging at the same time as his own, looking down he finally noticed the green cero that was expanding at the tip of Zakabe's Zanpaktou. Volak jumped back at the sight and due to the force Zakabe had been exerting downwards his Zanpaktou continued to travel on its path before colliding with the ground and releasing the cero right through the floor at an angle. That show of power certainly had many of the Arrancar spectators awe struck at the show of power between these two Arrancar, who would have definitely been in the Espada had that order still been in place. One female with blonde hair in particular licked her lips in anticipation, she had not seen Zakabe act like this in one very long time and to say she had missed this side of Zakabe would be an understatement.

Volak was breathing heavily, damn Zakabe was strong too, probably even stronger than himself in fact, he had been afraid of having to face Zakabe. Although he would never have admitted it, Zakabe was the only Arrancar besides the late Hogyoku augmented Arrancar that he truly feared because of his strength. Zakabe turned to him and Volak was able to look at the mask across Zakabe's face, it sent chills down Volak's spine because it looked like Zakabe had released his Zanpaktou but he knew he hadn't as it required verbal command and Zakabe still had his Zanpaktou. The mask covered the entirety of his skull with two large horns protruding outwards and facing the same direction as the eyes. There were green markings that ran from the top of the mask in vertical lines right across the mask going across the eyeholes too, yet the most surreal part of the mask was its colour. The mask was midnight black with those green markings across it and in the eyeholes were not red pits of fear. They were white lights of hatred, pure hot rage condensed into eyes.

Volak was unsure what to do; it had already been proven that Zakabe had him beat in both close combat and with the use of cero. There was really nothing else for it.

"Obliterate..." Volak started before he saw Zakabe directly in front of him, with one swift move Zakabe had grabbed onto the blade of Volak's Zanpaktou and snapped it in half, crushing the half he still held in his hand. Volak looked to Zakabe in astonishment; he never knew that anyone would ever be able to stop him from releasing even more so he never expected the next thing to happen. Zakabe threw his own Zanpaktou away to the side and brought his hand back in front of him again. In a show of brutality that outscored all others in the whole fight Zakabe drove his hands right into the body of Volak. One entered where Volak's heart should have been, the other entered the area that Zakabe knew to be the representation of Volak's mask fragment. Zakabe grabbed onto Volak's spine and at the same time charged his cero in the chest cavity of Volak. With a cry of outrage Zakabe shouted to Volak.

"You should not have killed my brother and brought him back here, that was the only mistake that you ever made with me and it shall be your only one" Zakabe told Volak before he released his cero and it burst out through the back of Volak and destroyed the throne that had served as a physical reminder of the tyranny that all of the Arrancar had been living under, until now that is. Zakabe threw the corpse of Volak off his arm and looked to it with much disgust, within a second a small Arrancar had ran over with a cloth and wildly wiped away the blood from his arm.

Zakabe looked down at the small Arrancar and could see the fearful look that Zakabe received from the Arrancar. At this surprise his black mask fell from his face and he was able to see differently now, he noticed that the entire great hall had been destroyed by that bout and looked around all of the Arrancar present, just waiting for a challenge from one of them. To his intense surprise all of the Arrancar within the great hall who were still able to stand had knelt down onto one knee and bowed their heads. Zakabe looked around them all until his eyes fell on the small Arrancar again, he raised his hand towards the Arrancar boy – yes it is in fact a boy- and although he held his ground Zakabe did not miss the way the boy's eyes changed to wild fear in an instant.

Zakabe rested his head on the boy's head and ruffled the short red hair while smiling; the boy looked up in surprise at the gentle motion of his new lord and master, completely unused to it beforehand. The other Arrancar within the room looked up in surprise, an Arrancar who was nice, who would have thought it? Zakabe turned to address his new subjects; he was going to set it in stone right now the way things were going to happen now that he was in charge.

"Now everyone, I realise that you are all used to the way things ran while Volak was on the throne" Zakabe began as all of the Arrancar within the room nodded in agreement. "I am going to tell you right now that it is not the way I shall run things, my way shall be completely different than that of a tyrant. I shall treat you as equals so that we may come to create a certain type of culture or way of living that puts us at rest from the fighting we have had to do in the past to survive" Zakabe continued as he noticed one of the male Arrancar who had raised his hand. "Yes, what have you to say?" Zakabe asked.

"Why are you acting unlike any other Arrancar, you almost sound like you want peace, what about those who enjoy fighting?" The man asked respectfully as he could. Zakabe took the question into account and thought of a suitable answer.

"Well for those who enjoy fighting I am sure that we can create groups or such that allow you to fight as much as you like so long as you don't kill each other. To answer your other question, I am not acting like myself because of the human I met in the desert. That man was prepared to take on all of you and Volak by himself if it meant he could save those close to him" Zakabe explained as he noticed a blue haired woman raising her hand, nodding in her direction she began to speak.

"Surely he must have realised that it was stupid to believe he could take all of us on, I am not one particularly driven on conflict but I do realise that my abilities allow me to be on at least a sufficient level. Therefore why would he even try to take us on when all we did take was the Solis sisters?" the woman asked mystified as to why the human would be so brazen to take them on for what seemed like nothing.

"Those were why he came here, he made a bond with them in the desert and when Seru and Byuku took both girls in the desert that was when the human's true power came forth. He was well prepared and probably capable of taking the large majority of you in his quest to get to those girls" Zakabe answered her as he noticed the shocked look that crossed over her face at that and Zakabe seen that arm of a blonde haired woman raise and nodded to her too.

"How can you be so sure that he could take on most of us? He was so easily dispatched by two red demons and you had to save him from Zurak yourself" came the voice of the blonde haired female.

"That is true but I can still say he would take on a large majority of you because. One, he was holding back the entire time that he was fighting with Zurak and if you listen and look down that hallway behind me you will see one hell of a cero" Zakabe noted almost off handedly. All of the Arrancar looked in the direction indicated and could see many Arrancar trying to breach into a room but getting stopped for some reason. As they began to lose interest they saw the raw light of the white cero that tore through the ranks of the Arrancar and destroyed the wall behind them, what had them mesmerised however was the screeching noise that was coming off the cero as it had been shot. "Two he was able to beat me without the use of a Zanpaktou or that cero, he is that powerful" Zakabe finished almost as if he had timed that down to perfection.

"Are there any more questions then?" Zakabe asked as all of the Arrancar within the great hall looked to each other with worried expressions on their faces. "Good, now I will tell you this so that there is no confusion, I am your king as you accept but I make that man Ichigo Kurosaki my own superior. His abilities grant him levels I cannot reach and as such I tell you to regard him as a God. His word is the only one that overrides my own. Remember that well, also I would advise you be nice to those Solis sisters from now on, unless you would like to personally feel that white cero" Zakabe finished off with a slight chuckle as all of the faces within the room turned to ones of sheer horror.

"How can you just call him a God like that though?" an Arrancar cried out. Zakabe turned to regard this Arrancar and to everyone's surprise, Zakabe's reaction was not what was expected towards the Arrancar that had burst out like that, he laughed.

"I can because I am the king but not to abuse m position it is because I truly believe that he is the epitome of our race, he is a soul who has been through much torment, has seen things that even some of us may be unable to stomach, most of all though, he is the reason that Aizen is dead" Zakabe finished, enjoying the face that Volak had found him worth the time telling the truth about Aizen's demise.

"Volak-Sama killed Aizen though" another Arrancar cried out and Zakabe regarded them lightly again.

"He can't have, he would have to destroy the Hogyoku, and it is alive and within Ichigo. He killed Aizen albeit he was a fully fledged hollow at the time and ate him but he is the one who killed Aizen, since Aizen has been regarded as a god amongst us hollows as the one who defeated and even killed our previous God I do believe that Ichigo deserves the title don't you my friends?" Zakabe asked, he was happy when all of the heads in the room even the more sceptical of the lot nodded. "Good, now let's get this place all cleaned up and get to work on the rest of our lives shall we?" Zakabe asked as all heads nodded again. He then made his way over to the room where the white cero had erupted making sure Ichigo was alright.

_/Flashback Ends/_

That had definitely been a difficult day for both him and Ichigo, but they both managed to pull though it and over the resultant week they were able to come to a greater understanding of their political power now. Both however swore to each other they would not abuse this power that they now controlled. They realised that many of the Arrancar were entirely devotional to them and would definitely fight for them if asked to but in general most had taken on the new peaceful approach that Zakabe had most of the Arrancar adopt. He even came through on his promise to those who loved fighting and opened up one of the large desert areas within the Las Noches compound for fighting, with help from Ichigo f course he had to round up those who wanted to fight and then they all fought, simple. Or as Ichigo said it perfectly at the time. "Well that was easy".

Zakabe smiled to himself at the memory and wondered just how things were going in the human world for his lord, hoping for the best obviously but he knew that there was his niggling feeling in the back of his head that said things were going to be tough, especially after what Ichigo had shared with him on the matter. That although was a positive in all of this Zakabe and Ichigo had like Ichigo and the girls grew close over their short relationships, it was like he was more at home with hollows. He couldn't help but think that maybe things were not going too well, he would just have to hope that things were ok with his lord for now as he could not personally go there and help him.

* * *

_**Real World**_

Ichigo trudged into the shop owned by Urahara not even bothering to knock, simply sliding the door open and walking in. He was instantly assaulted by a little red haired boy as he walked in.

"Who do you think you are just walking in!" Jinta exclaimed as he ran at Ichigo and raised his bat ready to hit, but before he could hit Ichigo he felt the bat leaving his grip and swung wildly without it landing in a heap on the ground. Jinta looked up to see Urahara standing with his bat in hand and his hand drawn slightly over his face, shadowing his eyes. He knew that this meant the boss was serious and the way Ichigo was acting he could tell they were both serious about something.

"How can I help you Kurosaki-san?" Urahara asked in his serious tone and once Ichigo looked up Urahara saw the look on his face and for once in his life took pity on the young man, surely he had been through enough. "Come with me, Yoruichi-san! Could you be a sweetheart and make me and Ichigo some tea!" Urahara called sweetly to Yoruichi. From the other side of the building came the indignant reply of.

"Get it yourself you lazy bastard!" at which Urahara turned to Ichigo and shrugged "I guess I'm in the bad books again" Urahara explained as he lead Ichigo into the room with a small table in the middle. Ichigo sat down with a soft thud as Urahara went about making the tea, when he returned he turned to Ichigo.

"Right now tell me, what's the problem?" Urahara asked as Ichigo took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes as if thinking what to say. Finally he put the teacup down and looked to Urahara ready to tell all.

* * *

_Well here you guys go, bet you weren't expecting an update to this story now were you? I just felt like writing this chapter as my computer buggered and I wanted to try and get this story running again. I apologise to all of you who I have made wait and I also apologise for the shortness, just give me some time to get back up to speed, for those of you who are reading my Naruto fic don't worry I shall continue updating but I shall be doing this too so that will mean that the update speed for both of these fics will be slow but I will do them I promise. Anyway I hope that you enjoy this chapter of Hollow kingdom and I shall see you in either the next chapter or my Naruto fic, as always if you could R&R that'd be great, thank you and goodbye for now - Varrukh_


	13. Chapter 13 Doubts Quelled

Ichigo looked around himself very clearly uncomfortable right now, this action did not go unnoticed by Urahara as he looked around the room too, and he had just brought him into a room that he had always held conferences with people in, nothing had changed at all.

"You seem somewhat worried about this room Ichigo, What is wrong?" Urahara asked as Ichigo turned to him finally and Urahara was shown the extent of Ichigo's pain in those eyes. It took Urahara aback slightly, something that surprised even him; Ichigo looked completely defeated, almost as if he had lost his will to fight. "Ichigo?" Urahara asked again as Ichigo simply stared at him with those almost dead eyes.

"I'm a failure Urahara-san" Ichigo said to him with an entirely monotonous voice which left Urahara completely speechless.

"What do you mean Ichigo?" Urahara asked him after he finally regained his voice and was given his chance to voice his question. Ichigo seemed like he was not going to respond as his head had fallen again and he stared at the ground.

"I hurt my friends, I hurt my family, I brought pain and fear to those I care about and now I even have hatred running through many people that I used to regard as my allies, I can't blame them but that does not make it any easier to accept" Ichigo finally responded even though he did not lift his head from staring at the ground.

"That may indeed be true but then that means that you have to work to get their trust back don't you?" Urahara asked Ichigo as the boy's head looked up finally revealing brown eyes slightly moist.

"It's not that easy though" Ichigo answered as Urahara looked at him with a smile crossing his face.

"Of course it is not that easy, if it were that easy then there would be no real reason behind it then would there? It would just be another pointless adventure during your life" Urahara spoke as Ichigo looked up fully and Urahara could see that he was not far away from tears, that would have been something new for him to have seen, Ichigo crying.

"I guess you're right, Hogyoku said much the same thing" Ichigo answered and missed the way that Urahara's face changed from a smile to a surprised expression. He was about to respond when another voice beat him to the punch line.

"What did you just say Ichigo?" came the feminine voice of Yoruichi as she made her way into the room and sat next to Urahara directly opposite Ichigo.

"Yoruichi-san? I thought you were not going to get up?" Urahara remarked in surprise before Yoruichi had smacked him across the back of the head.

"That hurt Yoruichi-san!" Urahara complained childishly as he held his head in pain, Yoruichi paid him no mind but instead studied the form of Ichigo who sat in front of her.

The man who sat before her was not the teenage boy that she had trained in order to attain Bankai any longer, no he was a fully matured man now, he had seen the hardships of life, and death for that matter too. His eyes showed of his great sorrow and the pain that was evident within his soul, he was crying out for help but unable to actually voice those cries. He had physically changed too; his body was now much more profound, since his days of breaking into Soul Society. Back then he had a well formed body for someone of his age, but now his body just seemed to be permanently hardened into position, one of the things that did disturb her was that Ichigo's skin was not perfect. Over the area of his heart was entirely encased within what looked like crystal that didn't so much as seem to cover the area but in fact be the substance of that area.

"I said that Hogyoku thought it best that I try to reconnect with my friends" Ichigo answered her as he gained a frown while answering her, noticing that her eyes were not even trained on his face. Yoruichi then reached her hand out towards him and the area that the crystal had taken over on his body. Before her hand could touch the shimmering surface it was grabbed by one of Ichigo's large hand and she was then forced to look up to his face again.

"Do not touch that area of my body under any circumstances, I do not understand it fully yet and want no-one touching it until I do" Ichigo almost demanded of her as she nodded her head and drew her hand back from Ichigo's.

"Does that mean that you have talked to the Hogyoku? Are you and the Hogyoku one now?" Urahara asked in more anticipation than he entirely wanted to ask, he wanted to know but he didn't want to sound like an excited child when finding out.

"Yes, I think when I became a hollow I consumed Aizen and because he had fused with the Hogyoku I gained it too" Ichigo answered before he finally came to terms with what he had just said, he had committed one of the worst crimes to nature that he could think of, he had committed cannibalism. Not only had he committed it once on a human like being, but he had continued doing so on creatures much like himself in the realm of Hueco Mundo.

"I am a monster" Ichigo finally admitted to himself as he sat on the ground and his head fell again, this reaction took both Urahara and Yoruichi by surprise, Ichigo was not one to give up like this, nor was he one to say such things about himself.

"You are not a monster Ichigo" Yoruichi tried to tell him but as it seemed her words were not going to have any effect on him she got to her feet, moving around the table in a few strides she grabbed his neck into her slimmer right hand and lifted him into the air, quite the achievement because of their height differences.

* * *

Urahara had already guessed at what was going on, without even appearing too surprised at all he took his cup of tea into his hand and raised it to take a drink, with his other hand he absently reached to the floor and raised a hatch revealing some steps that descended into a wide open area. Without any time wasted Yoruichi jumped over the table and down the hatch with Ichigo still within her grip. As she neared the ground she released Ichigo towards the ground with more force in order to make him think and land on his feet. This did not happen however as Ichigo did not even try to move from his current position and slammed right into the ground below him, creating a large plume of smoke to rise and engulf Yoruichi as she herself descended.

Landing on the ground at the side of the crater she had made with Ichigo's body, Yoruichi stood still waiting for the smoke to die away to see the extent of injury dealt to Ichigo. As the smoke cleared Yoruichi was surprised when she found Ichigo just lying on the ground covered in some fallen debris, he had surely fallen if he was not even willing to stand again. Ichigo then slowly began to lift himself out of the debris, white spiritual pressure danced around him as he done so, swirling into a vortex.

Yoruchi's breath was taken away from her to say the least, what was happening before her was nothing less than pure power brimming to the surface and warming up all around him. He was nothing monstrous, this feeling that he gave off was far from monstrous, it was more comforting, the feeling that you got when you had a blanket draped over you. She felt this way as Ichigo was fully encompassed within the white brilliance of the light and completely shielded from view. As the level of spiritual pressure began to rise, ironically the amount of visible spiritual pressure faded as it instead made its way over to Ichigo's body and dug right under his skin. Yoruichi gasped slightly when she saw that happening to Ichigo and when his body took on its all too familiar white form. What surprised her most was when the last of the white material began to make its way to his face and began forming what she had been fearing, a mask.

The horned mask took place on Ichigo's head in under a few seconds and once it had finished no more spiritual pressure danced around him anymore as he stood in the form that he had been in a few months ago when he had again tried to target Orihime. Ichigo turned to regard Yoruichi and she took a step back in almost fright, she may have been an ex captain of the Gotie Thirteen and the heir to one of the four great houses in Soul Society, she still would not deny on her titles that the look Ichigo gave through those dead golden eyes of his scared her.

"You still believe I am not a monster Yoruichi-san!" Ichigo roared at her as he closed the distance between them in a quick Sonido burst and appeared right in front of her with his right fist completely covered in red spiritual pressure and primed to shoot forward towards her. He sent it crashing forwards into the face of Yoruichi. He should not have underestimated her as she merely twisted around his outstretched arm and delivered her right elbow right into the side of his mask, causing him to grunt in annoyance.

"Yes I do believe you are not a monster Ichigo" Yoruichi answered as she distanced herself from the form that Ichigo had taken, it scared her to say the least, she was just glad that her proficiency in Shunpo was almost unrivalled and was able to move as quickly as she had otherwise she feared that she may very well be sporting a large bruise on her face.

"Then you are deluded Yoruichi-san, I have done despicable things in my past as a hollow, I am a monster!" Ichigo roared as he aimed his open hand in her direction, within his palm a large cero began building up in size until it reached the size of his hand at which time he released the cero, the red that had begun building up finally released in a pillar of energy. Yoruichi had plenty of time to dodge the attack so done just that and jumped high into the air above the path of the offensive cero. It was too late that she realised she was not alone in the air and that Ichigo had appeared right next to her. His fist came shooting right towards her, only this time she was able to deflect his forearm with her own, with his arm outstretched over her right shoulder she delivered a strong punch right into the ribs of Ichigo and sent him flying through the air until he collided with a nearby mountain.

Yoruichi was beginning to get rather annoyed now, if Ichigo was going to attack her he could at least make it look like he was trying to hurt her instead of just trying and failing miserably to hurt her, then again it did add fuel to her argument.

"Why won't you hit me Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked the man as she walked through the air in the same path that Ichigo had earlier flown through. When she finally reached Ichigo's position still stuck within the side of the mountain she looked down on the form of the person who had not a few months ago threatened to kill everyone, was now bowing his head in submission after being beaten over two hits, not even at full strength.

"I can't" came Ichigo's weak reply as his entire white visage released from his body and became spiritual pressure before finally evaporating into the air. Once Ichigo was back to normal with his tanned skin and mask less face he did not even look up as Yoruichi made her way over to his position. It was not until Yoruichi forcefully grabbed his chin and made him look up at her did he even lift his head at all. When Yoruichi saw his eyes she could see just how defeated he was, he had tried to show her that he was a monster and prove to her that he was too dangerous. Worse than that though was that Yoruichi realised Ichigo was trying to prove to himself that he was the monster he remembered, trying to make peace with his already troubled mind.

"You aren't a monster Ichigo" Yoruichi began as she made her way to the place in the mountain that Ichigo had been imprinted into. Once she reached him she grabbed his shoulders and brought him into a tight hug, the kind of which one would only expect a mother to give someone. "You're cursed with memories of a time that you were unable to comprehend things that were going on, your primal thoughts and instincts ran you. They are a means to keep you alive Ichigo, even if it did hurt those you care for" Yoruichi finished off as she could feel Ichigo beginning to hug her back and then finally as he gripped her tighter she could feel his body move as he began to cry. This was the second time that she had to go through with this she lamented silently to herself.

* * *

Yoruichi heard it all, of how he felt towards those that he had so obviously hurt, he knew that although most people seemed unopposed to him when he returned that they were all still secretly sceptical of him. It hurt him deeply and Yoruichi found herself almost weeping at the mental outpouring of the teen. He talked of how sorry he was and that he would take back what he had done if he could, he spoke of his sorrows at hurting his close friends like Sado, Uryu, Tatsuki and Rukia when he had went on his rampages in the past. Then when he got to Orihime that was when Yoruichi was the closest to tears.

"When I finally got my memories back I couldn't believe how horrible I had been to everyone, but my memories of Orihime and the ways that I had talked to her sickened me. How else could I think of myself other than a monster after that? I have absolutely no idea how I can ever make it up to her. She may act like things are alright because that is just the way she is, I can just tell that behind her fake smile is fear just as evident as everyone else" Ichigo finished off as he looked to Yoruichi who had just silently listened to him as he poured his heart out to her. He was grateful that she was there because keeping that all to himself in the short time that he had was really beginning to wear him down.

Silence took over after he had spoken of Orihime and Ichigo had just sat within Yoruichi's embrace enjoying the feeling of what was most like the motherly hug that he missed so much. With a deep sigh Ichigo signalled that he was done and Yoruichi released him from her hug that she herself had gotten to the stage of enjoying, honestly she liked her hugs. She and Ichigo made their ways back to the ground of the underground training area only to find Urahara standing at the bottom of the mountain with a body lying at his feet slightly propped up against a rock.

"Well you took your sweet time, honestly Yoruichi if you are sick of me and prefer the younger men you could at least t…" Urahara was unable to finish his fake hurt felt speech as Yoruichi had hit him on the top of his head with her clenched fist. "Ouch" was all Urahara could respond to such a harsh movement with.

"You know very well it was nothing like that Urahara" Yoruichi told him in a neutral tone that told Ichigo either this was normal or Urahara had done something to make Yoruichi a very unhappy kitty. Urahara rubbed at the back of his head innocently as he laughed nervously at the glare that could kill being sent his way.

"Yes of course I do" Urahara began as he lowered his hand and turned to Ichigo who he noticed had red eyes, he had obviously given in to his emotions, that was good it meant that he was not going to become a problem in the future. One can only go so long by bottling everything up. "Anyway, Ichigo I have here what you came here to retrieve" Urahara indicated the body on the ground before turning back to Ichigo. "I did not retrieve your own body for obvious reasons, decomposition being chief amongst them, this Gigai will however work to synthesise what you look like currently, it will basically mimic your true appearance as your 'normal' self" Urahara explained to Ichigo but upon seeing his confused expression Urahara sighed before simplifying it. "What you look like in this form, you'll look like in human form" Urahara simplified, glad when he seen Ichigo look like he comprehended what had been said.

"How did you know that I came here for that?" Ichigo asked suddenly interested as to how he could have guessed as much, he had made no obvious statements, he had actually basically broken down in the middle of their talks after he realised he was basically a cannibalistic murderer.

"Call it my own intuition told me that you'd probably be interested in going back to school, am I correct?" Urahara asked him as he turned back to head out again, not before looking at Ichigo and giving him a wink.

"Yeah, I got an entire year that I got to catch up on so I guess that I had better start as soon as possible, it'll help me in later life too when I'm going for jobs to have some grades under my belt" Ichigo explained sounding much more confident and happier than he had been sounding not too long ago.

"You sound better now Ichigo" Urahara remarked as he stopped and turned back to the young man, who to his surprise had an honest smile on his face and if Urahara could look right into his eyes he would not miss the faint blue glow that appeared whenever his resolve had been hardened.

"Much better, I'm going to make sure that I prove to everyone that I am the Ichigo that they remember, I will be that man again or I will die trying, my talk with Yoruichi has helped me see along with yours and the Hogyoku's advice that anything that comes easy is always nice but things that are harder to come by are usually worth the effort" Ichigo answered as a satisfied smile made its way onto the faces of both Yoruichi and Urahara at that moment and time.

"I guess now is the time to see what I'm going to look like when I get into this Gigai then isn't it?" Ichigo asked nervously as he walked over to the blank Gigai that sat at the feet of Urahara. He didn't understand why he was so nervous, it was only supposed to take on his form as he was now wasn't it? With a deep breath Ichigo lay down onto the prone form of the Gigai and allowed his spirit to seep into it. After a few seconds he could feel that he was becoming awake, sitting up groggily he looked to the shocked faces of both Urahara and Yoruichi.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked slightly worried that he had some form of mutation or something that had them both looking at him like he had just suddenly sprouted an extra arm, actually they might not look quite like that if he had. Neither could answer him so instead Urahara pulled out a small pocket mirror and handed it to Ichigo. He held it right opposite his face and found himself already annoyed as he saw that his golden eyes with black sclera were in place. Panning out slightly he could see that his orange hair was slightly longer but it was as if the new length was now red so he had orange hair with red tips. As he panned out fully he got a glimpse of his chest and to his horror found that it had the tribal tattoos that his hollow form used to have. With a sigh Ichigo was left to accept the changes that had been applied to his body. It was only then that Ichigo realised he was stark naked and tried to conceal himself, hiding behind a rock outcropping.

"You wouldn't happen to have any clothes would you?" Ichigo asked almost nervously as Urahara laughed finally with Yoruichi joining in. Urahara threw some clothes to Ichigo who caught them. Underwear, black pants, white short sleeved shirt and a black trench coat strange combination of clothes but with Ichigo out of no other choice he just put them on. Walking out of the place he had used to change both Urahara and Yoruichi stood waiting for him and looked at him with surprise when he finally revealed himself. He had worn his bottom half as normal as expected, yet his trench coat sleeves had been rolled up to the same length as the shirt, the shirt had been buttoned from the bottom until it reached the top three buttons. They had been left open and even revealed some of the tattoos.

"How do I look then?" Ichigo asked both of them as he stood in front of them with his arms spread wide open, only now was his entire changes visible. His tattoos were visible through the shirt, his eyes were the discernible black sclera with golden irises and the red coloured tips of his orange hair were made apparent in the light away from the shade of the rock.

"I have to admit with that random collection of clothes that I gave you, you managed to make it look good on you Ichigo" Urahara answered him first as he nodded his head in an affirmative manner. At looking at Yoruichi he could tell by the ravenous look that she was giving the form of the young man she approved. She was not for one second going to deny that he looked absolutely gorgeous; it was as if his face was made to perfection by the soul king himself.

"Thanks" Ichigo answered with a smile that almost had Yoruichi melting on the spot. "Urahara-san what time is it by the way?" Ichigo asked concerned that he might not even get any sleep in before he had to go to school. Urahara looked to his watch and smiled when he read the time.

"It's only one thirty in the morning Kurosaki-san, you can go home and get some sleep before you have to wake up for school tomorrow" Urahara answered him with a smile on his face, even when he looked to Yoruichi and could see she still had to tear her eyes away from Ichigo he felt his smile widen further.

"Okay thanks Urahara-san, and thank you for listening to me Yoruichi-san it helped!" Ichigo said before he turned tail and made his quick retreat away out of the underground training ground.

* * *

Once Ichigo was safely out of earshot Urahara made to move away but was tightly gripped around his arm.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Yoruichi asked him dangerously as she rounded on him with those hungry eyes that did not seem to leave her just yet.

"Maybe I did" Urahara answered her mischievously as he smiled to her before he felt his arm getting grabbed tighter and he looked directly into those hungry eyes again.

"Well unfortunately for you I have now counselled two children and have felt close to them, so I tell you now after you have gotten me in this mood too, I want a child!" Yoruichi proclaimed to him as she began to drag him towards an area at the back of the training area.

"Don't I get a say in this!" Urahara screamed as he tried to release himself of her vice like grip.

"Nope! I want a child now and you are going to give me it for getting me like this in the first place!" Yoruichi argued as she continued to drag an 'unwilling' Urahara away.

"It was Kurosaki that got you like this though!" Urahara whined as he had attempted to stop her by digging his heels into the ground, which did not work as he just made two long lines in the ground all the way towards their intended destination.

"I don't get to do to him what I'm going to do to you though" Yoruichi said to Urahara in a much more seductive tone as he came out of his unwilling stance and looked at her. The look she was giving him promised him great pleasure but also great pain later on. Right now though, he could not give a damn about the future there was just him, Yoruichi and the here and now, he grinned widely before he and Yoruichi walked hand in hand to their intended destination.

* * *

Ichigo walked home with a little but more of a happy step to his walking. His earlier more depressing thoughts had been discarded, he was going to think in the optimistic for now on, he _would_ make things with everyone alright again, if it was the last thing that he done. He knew that things would be hard but like three separate people had told him, the things that are hard to come by are those that are most worth the time and effort put into them.

Ichigo walked by a street that instantly caught his attention, as he looked down the street that was this time now illuminated by the light of the luminous moon he thought of the large feeling of nostalgia that hit him. This had been where he had fought those three guys that had knocked over a little ghost flowers to honour her. He smiled as he walked down the street to the lamppost where the small bottle that used to hold her flowers used to be, to his utter surprise the bottle was still sitting there with some withered flowers within. Ichigo knelt down and waved his hand over the small flowers within the bottle, releasing a small amount of his spiritual pressure as he done so. With this action the flowers within the bottle came back to life but seemed to glisten in the lunar light. Ichigo had encased the flowers in tiny crystals all over the flowers, forever immortalised.

He then continued his trek on homewards as he continued to think about all of his friends and how he could possibly make it up to all of them whenever the time came. He knew he would do it just not how. As he got into his home he was just about to ascend the stairs to his room before he remembered that not only had Orihime now taken over his room but Sachi and Kyota were probably deep asleep in that same room and he really did not want to wake any of them up if he could really help himself.

He instead made his way to the location that many men found themselves when there was no other replacement for a bed. The couch. Since he was finding himself too tired to even look out a blanket he decided that his coat would do for now and that he was going to sleep fully clothed tonight. He'd fix everything tomorrow, for now he just wanted to go to sleep and finally allow his mind that had been on alert for the better part of over two weeks to finally relax a little. The second that his eyes had closed he was asleep and away off to his happier dreamland.

* * *

_Well here is your next instalment of Hollow Kingdom, I hope that you guys will enjoy it as I think I'm beginning to get back into the swing of it all, I will hopefully have longer chapters now that I am beginning to get used to all of this again=] I hope you enjoyed my attempt at humor with Yoruich and Urahara, and i stress the 'attempt' bit=] anyway as always I hope that you enjoy and for those who have been reviewing my work I thank you and I shall see you in either the next instalment of either this or my Naruto Fic. As always if you could R&R that would be lovely, goodbye and in my case goodnight, until next time my friends =] – Varrukh _


	14. Chapter 14 Changes

Zakabe sat atop the throne of Hueco Mundo for lack of a better term, bored out of his skull. He had thought that being the powerful ruler of hollows would be more fun than this, although he had to lament that having the title as Demon Lord of Hueco Mundo before he had even ascended to the throne did probably hamper him in some ways. He let out a deep exasperated sigh as he sunk lower into his already uncomfortable throne and covered much of his face with his right hand. Honestly, with the instincts of a hollow and the seek for a fight, he was really not having much fun, the way Ichigo wanted to do things was so much more boring than he had been used to. Like most of the hollows that enjoyed fighting, so did he. The only problem for him was that the specifically created group for the still fighting ready hollows would not fight him, none would fight him one on one and even after being told they could work together, they still refused. Sometimes Zakabe honestly hated his high level of power, he would not trade it for the world as it gave him assurance that he could control these hollows to a degree.

* * *

He heard the sound of the large doors at the opposite end of the hall opening and raised his head out of his hand, through the light that invaded into the room through the door Zakabe could make out the figure of someone who was undoubtedly female, he did not know many of the male Arrancar who wore dresses, not that there had never been any in the past mind you. He knew it was definitely female however because of the way they held themselves. Their head was raised high and they walked in very confident steps whenever they did walk, their long blonde hair usually flowing behind them as if caught on a separate current of wind that never occurred otherwise.

He focused on the woman at the other end of the hallway and as his eyes made more sense of her attire he began to figure out who it was. With a white dress that extended from her shoulders down to the ground and ending in what looked like a needle stack Zakabe was particularly confident that he knew who the person who had entered the room was. He did however lament that if he was wrong and it turned out not to be her that he would very surely be receiving some painful revenge.

"Sera, so nice of you to come and see me. To what do I deserve the honour of your presence?" Zakabe asked the woman as she made her way across the hall to him and even up the stairs before she even answered him, he however expected this from her.

"I thought it had been far too long since we last talked since you became the king of Hueco Mundo" Sera answered simply as she then proceeded to sit on one of the armrests to Zakabe's throne. "Help yourself to a seat why don't you?" Zakabe grumbled more to himself than Sera, that didn't mean she never heard him.

"Why thank you Zakabe I thought you'd never ask" Sera said in a much more teasing voice as she got up from her seat on the armrest and playfully plopped herself down onto Zakabe's lap. Besides the grunt in surprise there was no other noise as she done this action and upon her turning her head to see his blushing face, she could only see him staring at her blankly. She was surprised by this change in his attitude towards her; they had always been close before. Obviously there was the difference between their professional relationship and their personal but just now looked like both of those fields relationships were the same, distant.

"Zakabe?" Sera asked in fear that it had been her that had changed his mood so drastically, she had only moved from the armrest to his lap and now the sudden change in him. It scared her to say the least. She lifted herself from his lap and moved over to stand opposite Zakabe on the podium that his throne sat upon. The angle that she stood from him gave him a clear view of her features. Her purple eyes looked so confused but also he could see fear and pain hidden away in those beautiful eyes, in a past time he may have tried to comfort her, not now though he just could not even bring himself to appreciate the beauty that was Sera and with that thought his eyes drifted from her to the floor.

"I'm ok Sera, don't worry about me" Zakabe told her as he could tell by the way that she gasped his voice sounded distant and Sera did not like it at all. She moved forward and grabbed the sides of Zakabe's head in her hands before forcing him to look up at her, if she were to do this in front of many of the other Arrancar she would either be reprimanded by those loyal to Zakabe or be revered as the next ruler by those who opposed Zakabe. As it was neither group was here, just them.

The sight she got of him as she made him look directly at her and locked eyes with him scared her a great deal. The eyes which in the past had given her much of her hope and her willingness to continue onwards, now looked dead, without any hope, any determination. The ruler of all Hueco Mundo was not in the fittest of mental states and he was basically breaking down in front of her slowly.

She was at a loss of what to do, he had forever been the one who had brought her out of her low moods, he and Zurak had been almost experts at it by the time she had finally been created into an Arrancar. They had helped her along the way and had been almost as brothers to her, they helped her through everything.

She did not want Zakabe as her brother though, that was what a great deal of her low moods had been about when both he and Zurak had looked after her. She loved him yes, even the conundrum of love and hollows aside, she knew that she loved him, but not as a brother, far from it in fact. She had loved him deeply and been unable to show him it, this upset her many times as Zakabe often mistook her actions of affection as a brother would and left Sera somewhat annoyed and hurt. Zurak was always the one who heard about it these times, he knew of her love for Zakabe and in her luckiest fortunes he agreed not to tell Zakabe.

That was all until Zurak died. Zakabe changed entirely. He no longer viewed Sera as the little sister that he had adopted, he still kept watch over her and done his utmost to protect her but otherwise he became distant from her. In fact, the mission to retrieve the orange haired hollow had been the first time that they had spent any subsequent time together ever since the death of Zurak, although it hurt Sera did realise that some wounds take time to heal.

So now here she stood, opposite Zakabe as she could see the walls of his mental state crumbling and his face contorting, tears unbidden by him began to sting at the edges of his eyes. Sera saw these tears and moved her body forward capturing his chest into her embrace and hugged him, she had no idea if this was right or not, but it was what Zurak and Zakabe had done whenever they wanted her to feel better.

Zakabe was unsure as to what Sera was doing but allowed her to continue doing so, this was comforting and he really did need this, he could not allow his subjects to see him as weak, they would use such an opportunity to overthrow him and then Hueco Mundo would be thrown into turmoil again. He may be bored out of his skull but what really hurt him was the pain of killing his brother not only once but twice and his brother's resignation of his love. That had hurt Zakabe more than a ton of bricks being dropped on his head; he had yet to shed a tear at all about the entire ordeal.

Zakabe's breathing became much deeper and slower as he tried desperately to hold back the inevitable; he had no desire to let anyone know that he was in pain. He may care about Sera but under no circumstances did he want her worrying about him.

"Really Sera, I'm fine trust me" Zakabe told her with more authority behind his voice. That scared Sera, all of the emotion that had begun to come to the surface on the ruler of Hueco Mundo had been forced back into the depths of his mind. A look at his face confirmed this train of thought; she could see no tears brimming in his eyes any longer, those eyes looked dead, as if life had nothing more to hold for him.

"I know you are not fine though!" Sera screamed to him as she felt tears of her own coming to her eyes. She would not allow him to emotionally destroy himself; he was a kind and considerate Arrancar. He was a rare breed of Arrancar that she had had the fortune of knowing. For him to lock away all of his emotions would take away the man that she had known and cared about for so long. She simply could not allow him to do this, through her own selfish reasons and through her belief that he would become compromised eventually and his leadership questioned.

"I am however; you appear to be overstepping your rank, Nydia-san!" Zakabe called out as Sera could almost feel what would have been her heart constrict in pain at the use of informality between them. She just could not let him destroy their bond, she needed him and she knew that right now what he was doing was an effort to get rid of her. He did not want her to see him weak, it was not pride. It was consideration. He had always been the one to help her through difficult situations and now that he found himself in one he did not want to burden her. It was rather sweet if she was to think of that fact and neglected the other fact of his current actions.

No, this was just not happening and she was going to make sure of that. He may not speak to her now but she knew that if she was to wait patiently and prepare for any outcome then she would be capable of saving him from his despair. She was not idealistic enough to believe that Zakabe could be saved right now though; he had made it apparently clear that there was nothing and no-one which could get close to him right now. Even she who he had known for so long was being denied. Patience it was then and although it pained her to act as she was being forced to do, she knew Zakabe's will could not be bent by her.

"You have my sincerest apologies Zakabe-sama, I did not mean to overstep myself. I misinterpreted the situation and I apologise, it shall not happen again" Sera said to Zakabe in a neutral voice even though her head screamed out otherwise. Zakabe looked up to her in surprise and although he was glad that she would not have to see him in such a state it pained him that he had acted towards her in such a way. She bowed to him slightly before turning on her heel and made her way out of the throne room. She gave him one last longing glance before she sighed and pulled the door shut behind her.

* * *

Zakabe was finally by himself, all that he had wanted since Sera had entered the room, but now he felt empty and angry. It was by no fault of her own that he was in such a way, more it was a self-loathing of him that caused him to be as angry as he was. There were just circumstances surrounding her that had made things that just happened slightly harder on his psyche. The first and foremost of these circumstances was with Sera herself. He was not as stupid as not to realise that the difference in her attitude towards him and Zurak were the result of a sister's favouritism of a separate brother, no he knew that she desired him in another fashion and that was where his pain came to fruition. Zurak loved her, and Zakabe cared about Zurak more than he cared about himself, therefore the dilemma was set forth.

Zurak had told him that he loved her not long after she had become an Arrancar, Zakabe could not deny that the young hollow that they had basically brought up had managed to evolve in to a rather beautiful Arrancar, but the point still stood that Zurak loved her and as such that meant she was in a no touchy area. He respected her and he loved Zurak too much to even attempt to try anything like that, he was completely unaware however that Zurak had known about her love of Zakabe. Sera had always been blissfully unaware of Zurak's affection towards her and had always discreetly pursued Zakabe, he was aware of this obviously and hated it immensely, but this was really a subject he was powerless in he could not tell her who to love. So it hurt him a greater deal when he saw Zurak leaving Sera's chambers with a soul crushed look on his face, this having been when Sera finally revealed to Zurak that she loved Zakabe. Zurak turned back into his best friend again and Zakabe honestly allowed himself to believe that all would be fine after all and that Zurak would not allow an unfortunate event with a woman to bring him down.

Zakabe allowed himself to believe that all would be fine and his mental state soared at the time. He and Zurak were as brothers again and cared about only each other, of course they still looked after Sera but they mainly cared about each other. Then came the incident with Volak that turned Zakabe's mental state on its head. The death of Zurak was much more traumatic to Zakabe than he could ever have imagined, even after swearing to Zurak for revenge and swearing fealty to Volak in order to get close enough. He put on a mask from that day forward, what everyone saw was not the real him, the only person who had seen the real him since that time had been Ichigo. That was only because after the fight they got to talking and the pain of re-killing Zurak burst forth from Zakabe and Ichigo took the brunt of it.

As a result Zakabe felt it an insult to the memory of Zurak, his Zurak. For him to even think about her in such a fashion, where he may have believe he convinced Zakabe that Sera was not as special as before, Zakabe was no idiot. He could see the longing glances he gave her like the one he had received not too long ago. His mind would simply not allow a scenario where he and Sera were any more than just companions or friends at best. He just could not do that to Zurak.

An image of Zurak's smiling face invaded itself into his mind. It was a fond memory of Zurak he had, but the image distorted suddenly and was the red demon figure of Zurak. Laughter was rolling off its tongue before its head was slowly disappearing. Before it vanished completely a message appeared. 'you did this to me'.

The catalyst had been set and Zakabe no longer had any control, the image had horrified him and at that instant Zakabe let loose a scream that made the entire room shake. To any of the Arrancar within Las Noches at the time it would have sounded like Zakabe had just entered battle. Some of the wiser of the bunch however figured that like Volak he was probably blowing off some steam by destroying something, most likely low level hollows or something.

Zakabe screamed in agony as the image assaulted his brain continually, his eyes were clamped shut so tightly that they were beginning to hurt. But he could not focus on that physical pain as the mental pain he was experiencing was excruciating. His mind shattered as the image of Zurak being taken into hell just after he had impaled his own Zanpaktou into Zurak.

"NOOO!" Zakabe screamed out as his eyes finally opened. He could feel spiritual pressure on a level he had previously not felt for a long time. Upon closer inspection and subsequent shock he found that it was his own spiritual pressure being released in his distress, the swirling vortex of black covering him completely. His tears were rushing down his face as he tried desperately to calm down. It was turning out to be in vain as every time he tried to even out his breathing an image of Zurak invaded his mind and in an attempt to try and get rid of these images Zakabe thought about the one thing that was not connected to Zurak nor Sera.

Ichigo suddenly came into his mind, yet as suddenly as he appeared he disappeared. The memory of Ichigo triggered yet another memory of Zurak and Zakabe was thrown into yet another fit of screaming and crying as he tried desperately to get the pain and the images to go away. Zakabe fell from his throne and lay across the pedestal at the foot of his throne and curled up into the foetal position. He held his body together tightly as the images continued their merciless onslaught.

As it seemed like the images would never stop Zakabe suddenly felt warmth touching at his shoulder and suddenly felt that warmth spreading throughout his entire body. His mind slowly began to re-piece itself together as his body loosened up after being tensed for so long. Zakabe lay on his back as the warmth left his shoulder and as his spiritual pressure finally lifted and he could see through it he saw an awfully familiar face.

He had failed. He had tried to discourage her from wanting to come back here but there he had went and basically sent her a distress beacon. And if she had taken it as such then he had no doubts that the other Arrancar would realise his weakness and would be waiting to do battle with him. He wasted absolutely no time, giving them no chance to land a decisive hit on him while he was in such a condition. He brought his legs into his chest and arching his back and pressing his hand to the ground he pushed off with his hands and manoeuvred mid-air to land on his feet. He instantly settled into a fighting stance ready to take on any and all who would dare challenge him, he was maybe emotionally compromised but they were definitely going to feel the full brunt of that.

* * *

At closer inspection he found that the place was entirely deserted besides Sera who was looking at him with a worried expression written all across her face. With a last look around he sighed and brought his attention back around to Sera.

"Why did you Return Nydia-san?" Zakabe asked and he could again see the pain in her eyes as he addressed her as such. That look was quickly overtaken by another look however, a look of determination overtook and suddenly Zakabe found himself being grabbed by the collar of his coat and launched into the throne. He was sitting in his throne in pain as he reeled from the strength behind that one and before he knew it Sera had sat on top of his lap and was straddling him. He made to quickly remove her but the look in her eyes of something quite deadly but also something quite caring and beautiful stopped him.

"Why do you think I returned Zakabe-kun?" Sera asked softly as she extended her hand out towards his face and cupped his cheek within. She made him look up into her face and she made sure that his sapphire eyes met her indigo ones. "I care about you too much to let you destroy yourself like you are, you are hurting I know but you can't just bottle everything away. I am here to talk to just like you always done with me, talk to me. Let me know you, trust me. Let me take care of you, believe me. Let me love you, please just don't block me off" Sera said to him with as much conviction as she could possibly muster. Zakabe visibly became much less comfortable as she had said those things.

"I could not make you not love me; it is not my choice to make. I cannot give you my love though, one other loved you, and I will never betray his trust. I am truly sorry but I cannot reciprocate your feelings, it just hurts so much to think of you in such a way when he loved you so much" Zakabe said as he felt tears falling down his face again, finally Sera was getting a reaction out of Zakabe. Even if she did basically put herself out on the firing line and had her hopes and dreams dashed, she would not give up that easily though.

"Are you saying that Zurak loved me?" Sera asked as understanding dawned on her after what he had said. If she thought about it, the idea was not too absurd at all, Zurak had always been much more close to her and whenever Zakabe was not needed he would make a hasty retreat to allow the two of them time together, honestly she just used that time to enjoy the time with someone she viewed as a brother. Never had she thought he actually loved her like that, it hurt her to have been so oblivious. Then she realised the predicament Zakabe was in, she was forcing him into a corner right now and with his mental state, philosophy and memories, he was in no fit condition to be subject to such things right now.

Sera climbed off of Zakabe and he noticeably relaxed much more as she done so, even if his tears did tell another story she was not going to allow herself to take advantage of his weakened stated to fulfil her own basic wants and desires. "Yes, he loved you deeply, an emotion not very commonly held with Arrancar, I only have ever found it between myself and Zurak. Then I found it between Gratek and Firolous, who shared a bond not all too different from ours, and now I find it from you too Sera. He loved you deeper than you can imagine" Zakabe said as pain seemed to creep up in his voice. "It was for that reason that it hurt when I saw him in pain over the way you acted around me, I care about you of course, I love you too of course, but for the sake of Zurak I cannot allow such feelings to swell and take any root between us. It would be a direct disrespect to Zurak from me" Zakabe finished as he looked directly at her, those sapphire eyes staring deeply into her indigo ones again. It was at that moment that Sera finally understood why Zakabe had acted as he had, he was not angry at her; he was more disgusted with himself that he would even consider such a thing. That lightened Sera's mood, he had thought about it at least, she still had a chance. All that they had to do was work out everything about Zurak first.

* * *

_**Human World**_

Waking up was never a problem for him in the past. When he had been going to school before the whole Shinigami business, he was usually able to get up in plenty of time to get himself ready to go to school. So it was with great surprise that he found himself up at his usual time, even after sleeping at whatever times during his stay in Hueco Mundo. Old habits die hard then.

He hoisted himself up out of the unforgiving chair and stood up straight in his living room. Groaning in pain he stretched out in order to work out the kinks within his body. Feeling his muscles beginning to settle into the correct place he sighed in relief and all of this done before he had even opened his eyes. Upon finally opening him he found he was looking over at the dining room table and at it sat his father with a cup of tea and paper in his hands.

"Mornin Ichigo, I see you are still an early riser" his father said in a surprisingly serious tone, instantly Ichigo was out of his comfort zone. A serious Isshin was a scary Isshin. Ichigo shot his father a look that was a mixture of confused and slightly anxious. Isshin was able to hold his face for a whole three seconds before it crumbled and he had stood up abruptly. In a quick movement that Ichigo identified as Shunpo Isshin had closed the distance and had aimed a right footed kick for Ichigo's face. It took all of a second for it all to register to Ichigo and his grin spread across his face, before it was replaced with a scowl. He wouldn't want his father thinking that he enjoyed such fighting.

Ichigo dropped back slightly and grabbed his father's foot within both of his hands, twisting them around he caused his father to be flipped facing the ground. In a quick movement Ichigo had thrown his father across the room. Although this time his father did not hit anything hard or hurt his father at all. It was with much surprise that Isshin lifted himself out of the couch Ichigo had recently slept in and looked at his son closely. He had changed drastically, almost too drastically to still be considered Ichigo anymore. Yet he knew that this body was in fact his son.

His orange locks were longer and hung over his shoulders slightly, smoothly making the transition from orange to red from the roots to the tips of his hair. His eyes were a deep golden colour whose beauty was only hampered by the way that his sclera were completely black in contrast to the normal white. The clothing that he wore made him appear much more intimidating than he needed to be. With a large black trench coat covering his white shirt that was only buttoned up to the top three buttons. Isshin also took note of the apparent tribal tattoos on his chest. With his look finished off with the black pants and finally the black shoes, Ichigo looked much more like an exotic human than what he had previously been. He had to give his son credit, it would only make sense that he stick out, after all if those girls were right, he was revered as a God amongst hollows. As unsettling as that information should be Isshin found himself not worrying about it much, this was Ichigo and he appeared not to have changed much at all.

"A year's absence has not made your mind more susceptible to trickery, I am truly proud of you my son! Why did you not incapacitate me as you usually did?" Isshin asked as his eccentricity from the first statement wore off into the curiosity of his latest statement. It took Ichigo a moment to figure it out for himself before he came to a conclusion.

"I don't want to hurt you dad, I acted monstrously in the past and I won't let any aggravation cause me to inflict harm on others that I care about" Ichigo answered as Isshin stood before his son, a shocked look on his face but with pride swelling inside of his at the same time. His boy was growing up, and he had missed a whole damn year of it.

"You can't hurt daddy though, I am invincible!" Isshin proclaimed as he looked to Ichigo, but from the look his son was giving him he knew the boy wasn't buying it.

"Whatever you say dad, I still won't hurt you without any good cause" Ichigo said as he felt a slight chuckle roll out of his mouth. He was surprised at first but found he liked the feel. He felt so much happier and that little bit more free when he had just chuckled.

"Ichigo my boy, you have grown up far too much in the year that you were apart from us, I wish I had been there to see as you crossed that huge gap in your life. Alas I was unable to and I apologise" Isshin said solemnly as he looked at Ichigo. However Ichigo was surprised.

"Why are you apologising? I was a hollow during that time remember? It is only common sense that you were nowhere near me, the ones that I loved would be the first on the firing line anyway" Ichigo answered as Isshin had to finally concede that his son had grown into a man in under one year.

"I guess you are correct Ichigo, let us move away from such subjects as I can feel footsteps coming down the stairs. Judging by the speed of those steps I'd say it is Yuzu and Karin making sure you are actually here" Isshin said jokingly as he was proved right when both girls appeared at the bottom of the stairs. They were not alone however as a few seconds later they were joined by another, Orihime to be exact. As they all looked to him their eyes widened in shock and Ichigo could also see the looks of disappointment written across their faces too. That hurt a little; honestly he had hoped that they would be happy to see him. Maybe a good night's sleep had brought them to their senses. However after a second he could see Orihime's expression changing from disappointment to something more ravenous, but before he could confirm such a thing her cheeks were dusted with a tint of red and she looked away from him.

He made a mental note that whatever he had done he was finding out what it was, teasing her about it and then maybe doing the same thing again. Just to tease her even more.

"Dad, where is Ichi-nii and who is this guy you're talking to?" Karin asked just as bluntly as usual. Well that made sense, they didn't even recognise him, truth be told he was surprised his own father had. Although maybe it was the bond they shared or the fact he had slept on his designated bed last night. Isshin looked over at Ichigo, and Ichigo noticed the mischievous look that he had. This was going to be interesting and might teach them to remember what his basic feature looked like. Come on was the orange hair not enough?

"Ichigo is out to sort some things out just now, and to answer your other question this man is called Ryu" Isshin said as all of the girls looked from Isshin to the man who was apparently called 'Ryu'. Karin shrugged her shoulders. "Well if Ichin-nii is going to return soon then I might as well say hello. Hi my name is Karin, that is my sister Yuzu and our other sister Orihime" Karin said as she took Ichigo's hand and shook it firmly. As Ichigo looked at Yuzu and Orihime as their names were called he received a smile from Yuzu and a smile from Orihime followed by a blush.

Ichigo had finally pinpointed what made Orihime blush like this and he was going to exploit it, not to an evil extent. Just in order to have some ammunition to tease her with. He moved across the room to the bottom of the stairs and too orihime's hand within his own while he also cupped her cheek with his other hand.

"Hello there Orihime-chan, my how beautiful you look today" Ichigo said in as much of a gentlemanly voice as he could muster, he could see her eyes widen slightly in fear and also the blush on her face deepened as she noticed she could see down his shirt to the tattoos and rock hard chest. "Like what you see?" Ichigo joked as he could see Orihime looking away from his chest and from him in general. She began stuttering nonsense which Ichigo thought made her look all the cuter. He was about to continue before he was interrupted by a new voice.

"Ichigo-Sama what are you doing to that poor girl?" came the voice of Kyota as she made her way down the stairs. Both she and Sachi were in the school uniform and had Ichigo not felt the way he did towards both girls and Orihime, he may have partaken in drooling in their direction. It was just like Orihime, their bust made the shirt look uncomfortable and the skirt didn't leave much to the imagination. Still what had just happened needed to be registered and Ichigo sheepishly turned away from the shocked expression on Orihime's face.

"Honestly girls, ever since you two became your adult selves you don't let me have much fun" Ichigo complained softly as he chuckled, surprising everyone in the room save Isshin.

"I…Ichigo?" Orihime's voice sounded so unsure but so very hopeful at the same time, Ichigo turned back to her and swished his hair out of his eyes, revealing his almost trademark golden eyes to her.

"The one and only" Was his short reply before he was grabbed into one of the tightest hugs he had had for a very long time, ok maybe the last one was Nel but that little girl had almost suffocated him. He wrapped his arms around her slowly as he could eventually feel the vibrations of something happening with Orihime. He pulled back from her and looked to her face and could see one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen gracing her features.

"I had thought last night was all a dream, when I woke up I realised that both of the girls were in the room too and I knew that you were really here. Then I saw you here and I was so unsure if it was you or not and when you acted like that you really made me doubt myself. You just look so different" Orihime explained as her smile stayed as wide as it was. Her smiled conveyed to him a sense of satisfaction that he felt even though he had acted as horribly as he had done, and he admitted such atrocities, he was able to make her smile again at least. Anyway, he was going to make sure that things worked out again wasn't he?

"Well it is me, surprise!" Ichigo said with a small smile as he looked deeply into her eyes. At that second Orihime felt as if those eyes stared into the depths of her soul, those golden eyes just gave of a sense that they understood everything and right there and then she did not mind in the slightest if Ichigo could see as deeply into her soul, as far as she was concerned she loved him and felt no need to hide such information from him.

Orihime moved away from Ichigo with enough time to spare before two bodies crushed themselves into his. He looked down on the top of the girl's heads and from the difference between the black and brownish hair Ichigo could distinguish them as his younger sisters. He was honestly surprised that Karin was hugging him but decided that to inform her of such things would result in a painful injury.

"Don't worry girls it's still me, I just look one hell of a lot different now, and I'm sorry to say I might be like this from now on" Ichigo explained to them as they looked up and understood instantly. With Karin nodding her head and Yuzu hugging him tighter Ichigo turned his attention to his softer sister.

"What's wrong Yuzu?" He asked softly as he pried her off of him and knelt down to look at directly in her eyes. Yuzu looked away before she answered him; she didn't want to look at him though, that was for sure.

"How can this be real though? Daddy had your body buried but I can tell that this is not a spiritual body but a real one" Yuzu commented as she looked directly at Ichigo, well it was official, his sister was definitely intelligent, that and he was now aware that his sisters were obviously taught about the whole Shinigami and hollows scenario. He had hoped that they would never have to be brought into the world of souls but he understood that it was in his father's desperation that he had informed them of everything.

"This is a Gigai technically, or a faux body that my soul can reside in while in the real world" Ichigo explained as he pointed his thumb at himself. "It's usually Shinigami who use this body in order to fit in in the real world, but I'm going to use mine as if it was my real body, I technically have the power to do so" Ichigo finished as he noticed Yuzu's head bobbing up and down in understanding. "Now that I think about it I had better sort things out with the school shouldn't i?" Ichigo asked out loudly as he had allowed his admittance into the school to go forgotten.

"That has already been taken care of Ichigo; Urahara has put your name onto the roster for the school. Your alias from now on is Ryu Kaiban, and I do believe you are in the same homeroom as you were before" Isshin interjected quickly, enjoying this chance to come back into focus after attention had been away from him for so long. "And those two girls are in the same class as you; just to make things easier for you all, Urahara made them Gigai's too as he guessed they would want to stay near you" Isshin finished as Kyota and Sachi nodded towards the ex-captain appreciatively.

"That does make things much easier I guess, Orihime I'm going to take Sachi and Kyota to our school to show them around so they don't get lost through the day. I'll meet you and everyone else at the school okay?" Ichigo asked as he turned to Orihime an d saw the smile on her face, one he would not mind seeing from now on and until eternity ended.

"Okay Ichigo, I'll see you at school later, I'll try to convince everyone to at least be civil towards you" Orihime said in a cheerful tone as she didn't realise the fact those words had somewhat affected Ichigo as he thought about the hatred the group must have for him. He'd worry about that obstacle when the time came though.

"Thanks Orihime" Ichigo answered her as he gave her one of his rare smiles that he reserved for those close to himself. That certainly took Orihime's breath away and made her want to be with him until the very end. "Right girls lets go and see Karakura high school, I wonder if it's changed around at all, well we'll see when we get there, I'll see you guys later!" Ichigo called before he had ushered both of the Arrancar girls out of the door and towards the direction of the school he used to know.

_At least I hope I can ask them to act civil_ Orihime thought to herself before she turned back into the house and began to get herself ready for the school day ahead, it promised to be an interesting day. She wondered who else would fall prey to the new Ichigo. She had to be brutally honest with herself though, she had found his new visage to be unbearably attractive to the degree that she had just wanted to take him there on the spot, everyone else's opinions be damned. Hence the monster blush she had sported earlier.

She however now worried that if that was her reaction towards him and due to her more reserved nature she had no doubts that some of the other women in her class or women in general would find him eye candy. She was not going to let the man she loved and just managed to reclaim get lost to her so easily. Hell no! She had waited too damn long for him to just let him slip through her grasp like that.

* * *

_Well here you guys go, the next chapter of Hollow Kingdom is out now, I hope that you guys enjoy this slightly longer chapter and I hope that you shall R&R too. Tell me how you think it is going and such, I can't make it any more enjoyable if you don't tell me what you'd like to see. Anyway, until the next chapter, byedebyes and I hoped you enjoyed =] - Varrukh_


	15. Chapter 15 Back To School

"Honestly, that guy comes back from Hueco Mundo after all that he has done and expects us to just ever so happily like him again, I mean who does he honestly think he is!" came the rather annoyed voice of one Matsumoto which received approving nods from Tatsuki as they walked to the normal meeting spot for most of the group. So far the group had accumulated to the level usually met before the meeting area. Sado and Matsumoto would usually head out and meet Tatsuki on the way to the rendezvous point, as it was Tatsuki had taken to the most prominent of topics once they had met, with Sado being left to walk alongside them silently.

A quite note as to why Sado and Matsumoto were within the same residence comes down to the fine point of a living space for the Shinigami who were to reside within the real world. Since Orihime had taken up residence within the Kurosaki household it had fallen to one of the other Karakura residents to give her lodgings. To her utmost glee and at times regret she was lucky enough to get Sado asking her if she wanted to live with him. Although any indication if he felt anything for her at all was lost in his calm and unemotional way in which he asked her. However, she had come to the assumption that nothing could ever be very clear about the young man she found herself living with.

"I know! He came to me all nice guy last night when he was going somewhere, I told him where to shove it though" Tatsuki answered as she thought back to her encounter with Ichigo and her anger at such a meeting. He had honestly thought that things could go back to normal after what he had put Orihime through? Tatsuki was furious at the thought of it and was very much against her going with him last night, but knowing that Isshin was there had somewhat gave her the confidence to let Orihime go.

"What did he say to you?" Matsumoto questioned as she looked at the tom-boy closely, scrutinizing her for her next answer. Tatsuki took notice of the sudden increase of attention sent he way but did not allow it to bother her, after all, after a year of talking to Matsumoto she had somewhat come to recognize her patterns.

"He said that he was going to make it up to us all, he said he could never apologise to us enough but he was going to find a way" Tatsuki answered her as she tried to remember what Ichigo had said due to the fact that in her irritation and anger she had not really allowed herself the attention to listen to him very closely. It was only once she repeated what he had said that she finally came to regret what she had said to him in return. She had so easily disregarded what he had said in her anger and had hurt him.

"He had better do something spectacular to make me ever trust him again, Orihime may trust him and I may act civil with him for her sake but for no other reason" Matsumoto said with complete and utter conviction, however upon finding the faces of both Tatsuki and Sado in deep concentration and even sadness in both cases she wondered what could have possibly made them sad.

"What is wrong with your faces?" Matsumoto asked trying to alleviate the sudden depressing atmosphere she found herself stood in amongst.

"I don't know about Sado because I don't speak for him. For me though I'm just confused about my feelings towards Ichigo. I hate him with a passion for what he put Orihime through and he will never be able to apologise to me enough for such atrocities, but at the same time he was my first and best friend and something like that runs deep" Tatsuki said as she walked on with her head laying low. Matsumoto waited patiently for Tatsuki to continue on, not entirely convinced that she was finished.

"I hated it when we drifted apart like we did in high school, he was the only guy I was ever really comfortable with and ever since then I've never truly allowed myself to become quite so comfortable again. He was so important to my growth as a person, his attitude to never giving up drove me on too because he would keep on coming and give me a good fight in karate" Tatsuki continued on as she had a smile on her face reminiscing about her childhood that she shared with Ichigo.

"Ever since his mom died though he was never that same boy again, ever since then he became cold and distant from everyone, even in high school where we came together again we never got close again. It hurt to be entirely honest, but I found Orihime and that made things all the better so I devoted my entire soul to protecting her. Then when the situation with Ichigo as he was threatening Orihime, I was torn between two things I cared deeply for and I chose Orihime without any hesitation, I do not regret that decision at the time. I do however regret the way that I acted with Ichigo after he tried to talk to me, it's as if I had a visor down and refused to lift it" Tatsuki finished explaining as she still had her head lowered after unloading quite a surprising amount of information for someone like her to hold. If anyone were to be so inclined they could pick out the tiniest hints of affection for Ichigo that Tatsuki had, but due to her company she needn't have worried.

Matsumoto was at a loss for words, in her entire time of knowing the tom-boy she had never heard the girl say such things about, well, anyone to be honest. Tatsuki basically cared about Orihime more than she did herself. That would go part of the way to explain why Tatsuki had exploded in that way so to speak. It appeared as if Tatsuki had been suppressing these thoughts for quite a while and having taken the time out to actually think about what Ichigo had basically screamed to her the night before gave her the things that she needed in order to try and come to terms with things.

"My feelings towards Ichigo are as clear as they were the day that the brotherly bond was created between us. Ever since that day I have accepted whatever Ichigo has done as necessary for some reason or another, even if he had killed me I would have seen it as a necessary means towards an end" Sado said unexpectedly which instantly got a response from Matsumoto

"What are you talking about? You would not care if Ichigo killed you!" Matsumoto yelled to him with much fear and also anger within her voice, how the hell could he so happily die at the hands of a person who would do such a things.

"No, I would not allow it to faze me in the slightest, what you must realise is that there was a time where a gang of boys could have very easily beaten me to death. Ichigo saved me from that gang and although they beat him up and left us both alive, Ichigo tried to save me" Sado began as he stopped and caused Matsumoto and eventually Tatsuki to stop once they realised he was no longer walking at the same pace as them. "Ever since that day I have owed my life to Ichigo and I have believed in every venture that he has taken thus far, if I am to die at his hand in order for him to advance forward in any way, manner or form then I will only gladly do it for him" Sado finished as he looked directly at Matsumoto making sure that she knew he was not kidding about this.

"What… but how… how can he command such respect from you, look at what he has done to us all!" Matsumoto yelled in complete and utter confusion, how they both could not see the way that they had been affected by Ichigo, he had tried to kill them both at one point!

"I am sorry Matsumoto-san, I will not argue with you on many things, but this is one thing I cannot agree with you upon" Sado answered her so coldly that she felt as if she were looking at an alien within Sado's skin, he had never spoken to her like that in the past year and she was seeing a side of him she never knew and really didn't like.

"He attacked all of us and even made it very clear that his final target was going to be Orihime, he shouted it out to everyone that he would kill her at all costs!" Matsumoto yelled at the top her voice as she turned on the giant man fully since they had yet to move from that same spot.

"Do not take me for a fool, I know what he did" Sado answered and Matsumoto swore that she could see the slightest glimpse of anger cross over those gentle eyes as she stared deeply into them. "I also realise that without Ichigo in the first place, Orihime would not mean to me what she does now" Sado finished as the glimmer of anger that had sprung up in his eyes faded away and gave way to his gentle eyes again.

"What do you mean by that?" Matsumoto asked dangerously, for the first time getting slightly angry with the man she had come to know ever so well. He was for the first time seeming like a completely insolent brat, and she did not like it one bit.

"Ichigo is the lynchpin, without him the group as we know it would not exist as it does, we would not even know you, the only reason I may have ever seen Orihime would be through Tatsuki who would again be through Ichigo" Sado explained as he began to move off without giving off any hint of emotion as he talked. "Simple fact of the matter is I will accept him back as my friend instantly, I do not care for previous transgressions, if what Tatsuki says is true and by the looks of her it is, then Ichigo truly does feel sorry. That is all I need, it is quite clear that Ichigo realises that some will be harder to convince than others. He is not making us forgive him, he is allowing us a choice, a sure sign that Ichigo is back" Sado finished with his walking pace already set and clearly ready to leave them if he had to.

* * *

Sado's words rocked the worlds of both Tatsuki and Matsumoto; the silent gentle giant had spoken more words to both of them than they had ever heard before. It was not the quantity of words that had them so mesmerized, but the content of what he had said. It left Matsumoto wondering what she even knew about the orange haired boy, had she really known the fullest extent of the Substitute Shinigami before his death? It seemed like he had faithful and loyal friends and that Sado, one she took to be very intelligent and down to earth was entirely devotional towards him.

Tatsuki was going through a complete mental breakdown at the same time however. Regret stung at her very core as she thought about the way she had treated the orange haired idiot. She had been hurt when she found out the one that was so restlessly attacking Orihime was in fact him, and when she found out punching his face to mush was just going ways to make her feel better. It didn't work though, because after it she felt worse than she wanted to admit. Then last night had really clouded her judgment, she had acted so harshly towards him and said things she wished that she could take back if only to spare him some trouble. What was done was done though and she could not help that. It just made her regret all the more bitter.

She numbly began to walk after Sado with her head held down as she continued to think about the orange haired idiot she used to know. He had been so much fuller of himself then, but that was when it was enjoyable being with him, as children he was much more fun to be around, now as a teenager and almost a man for that matter he was no longer fun but serious. It hurt to realise that he was no longer the Ichigo she remembered, her Ichigo. At such a thought she stopped herself.

Never once had she considered Ichigo hers, and at the slightest thought of such a thing caused Tatsuki to stop her mind process and revert back to such a possession thought. Had she the capacity to think about such a thing she may have come to realise that she had indeed kept such emotions hidden and would not allow them to surface, the love of her friend was too deep. Her mind shut down at this sudden influx of such a thought, she had indeed thought of Ichigo as something other than she had always thought of him. She was also capable of understanding however that it was his old happier self that she had felt belonged to her, as selfish as it may sound, the way he was now she felt no possession of.

Feeling that she had addressed that issue very thoroughly she continued her thought process on what to do when she saw that orange haired boy… man. She had no doubt that he would be with Orihime when they met them at the usual meeting point for their group as she had a feeling that Ichigo would probably not be leaving her any time soon, he had spent plenty of time away from her and he would almost definitely be protecting her with all of his worth now.

Tatsuki finally made up her mind that although she may be confused about him right now she was not going to forgive him so easily as the feeling was still a little protective of Orihime, it was a like a switch that couldn't be changed on her. She would however be open to any form of apology or whatever he had prepared.

Matsumoto was much less acceptable in her standards, she was not going to give in to his supposed apologies so easily, and you do not mess with her surrogate little sister so easily and get away with it Scott free, the last guy who had tried to make a move on Orihime still had the fist mark on his cheek. _He had better have changed drastically if he ever wants me to trust him again_. Matsumoto thought to herself as she quickened her pace to catch up with the other two, the subject was clearly a non-argumentative one so she decided to leave it as such.

* * *

Rukia and Renji stood against the wall at the usual meeting spot for the entire group; usually the two would be very active in either chatter or arguments that would escalate into fights that unfortunately for Renji, Rukia would always win. He always used the 'she cheated' excuse whenever anyone saw him lose, but all were quite capable of seeing he was not going to ever physically hurt his girlfriend. Today however they both stood in total silence, Renji at a loss for what to say and Rukia because she was far too deep in concentration and lost in thought about Ichigo and current events to even attempt to converse. Renji understood this and just waited patiently, the time would come eventually when Rukia would talk, whether it is before everyone else appeared or after the day was finished.

As it turned out unfortunately it was not going to be any time soon as he could see the bobbing heads of Tatsuki, Sado and Matsumoto coming closer to them as they made their way along the road with Sado and Tatsuki walking side by side with looks of deep concentration and Matsumoto walking behind them, her face shielded from view.

As the trio finally reached them and stopped Renji hoped for the silence to be lifted as even though Sado was the silent one of the group, at least Tatsuki and Matsumoto would be talkative and be able to lighten up the mood. Yet again fate seemed to really not like Renji at that moment and time as the silence that had been hanging around earlier on was now laying over all five of them.

Just as the silence managed to reach an almost deafening level Renji was ready to scream something, anything, if just to kill the absolutely horrible silence that had enveloped the entire group. He was saved the hassle when he saw Orihime coming towards them with both Yuzu and Karin at either side of her, just like usual. Usually the group would walk past the girls' school anyway so they came along for the journey too now.

"Hey everyone!" Orihime called out happily, at which Renji could just hug her for, honestly that silence was beginning to physical hurt him.

"Yo" Renji answered her back giving her a two fingered salute as he done so to which she smiled slightly and he received looks of hopelessness escaping the faces of Yuzu and Karin.

"Hey Orihime" Rukia answered eventually, with her voice being used in the first time today it almost seemed croaked as if she had been crying.

"Are you ok Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked concerned as she could hear the way in which he friends voice acted up. However after clearing her throat Rukia answered her with one of her fake smiles that Renji could instantly pick out. _We definitely gotta talk later_ Renji thought to himself as he saw that.

"I'm fine Inoue, just got a sore throat is all" Rukia answered back with her smile at a level where it was as if sparkles emanated from her.

"Ok, do you need anything to help you?" Orihime asked her sweetly to which Rukia had to seriously think to herself just how wonderful Orihime was. She honestly was one of the few selfless people she had ever known.

"No that's ok Inoue, thank you though" Rukia answered with a more genuine but smaller smile as she said so. Orihime's smile only grew in size after she heard this.

"Ok, let's get on our way to school then, we have to make sure that Karin and Yuzu are on time too after all" Orihime reminded everyone as she bobbed her head side to side indicating the girls as she said their names.

That was just like Orihime. Ever since becoming the adoptive sister to the two girls she had fit the role of the big sister to a tee. She had taken to the position like a fish to water. She helped them through what were the throes of puberty so far and had also been the one to help them whenever they went out shopping. There was no doubt in many people's minds that if it was not for the help of Orihime that Isshin would definitely struggle to help his daughters as they grew up. Even if he was a doctor he was a father first and fathers are generally clueless about what is going on with their daughters, or so they are told anyway. Orihime had however been a great help for Isshin as she helped to bring up the girls, even going as far as to get a part-time job to help with the income.

Everyone nodded in their understanding and set off in the direction of the school that they had been partaking in for the last year for at least three of them, having more permanent missions to the human world. Only one of their number was allowed the slightest of grins of humour as they got ever closer to their school. She knew who the new member of her class was going to be and what he looked like, it was going to be a completely different story for all of her friends.

* * *

The entire class was a ruckus as their homeroom teacher entered and took her seat before looking at the large array of young adults before her conversing and laughing. Mentally counting to five in her head she wondered how long it would take for them to finally realize that she had in fact entered the room. She grew rather annoyed when it appeared as though none of them seemed to register her appearance as usual and opted for the other option…

"Right class! Shut the hell up!" she screamed at the entirety of the pupils within the room, causing many heads to be turned in her direction axs she smiled softly and indicated that they sit down. Let it be known that Kyoki Fuura was not a woman to ignore. If Unohana was the gentle but scary captain of Soul Society, then Kyoki was the human teacher version of her. In short you do not mess with her.

Satisfied that her entire class had understood what she wanted to get across, ignoring the fact that even some of the hard nuts within the class had shrank back at the scary visage that was Kyoki, she began to address them as she normally did in the mornings. Looking down at her notice board of important information Kyoki for once found something that was of mild significance. Actually, three cases of mild significance.

"Now class we shall be joined today by not one, not two, but three new students as hard to believe as it is" Kyoki began as she noticed the interested looks she received from everyone in the class except from Orihime, Tatsuki, Renji, Sado, Matsumoto and Rukia. Figuring that they must know that someone was entering having met them already or something she continued on unfazed.

"We have got two girls and one boy joining us. So if you three would be so kind as to come in I would like you to get introduced and get on with teaching" Kyoki asked sweetly, although everyone within the room could feel the demand left behind in that sentence.

Two girls walked in quickly at the evident command by the teacher and were under the gaze of the entire class as they done so. One girl had long blue hair while her almost identical twin had flowing red hair, both girls looked slightly flustered for some reason and by the way that they looked out through the still open door it could only be guessed that the culprit was still to come. None of that mattered to many of the people within the classroom however as with the introduction of the two girls many of the boy's minds were erased. With uniforms that were barely able to contain their ample bosom and the short skirts that they had to wear due to Orihime's preference of skirts they were left as almost literal pieces of meat to the ravenous eyes of the male population within the room.

Sachi and Kyota became suddenly aware of the looks they were receiving and did not like it one bit. It reminded them far too much of the way in which the old leader of Las Noches used to look at them. He was a disgusting creature who only cared about what he could get out of all of his subjects. They were needless to say not very happy with the looks many of the males within the room were giving them and made it evident with the blushes that adorned their faces and the way in which their faces scrunched in obvious distaste.

Renji was left slack jawed as he stared at the spectacle before him. Yes he was a committed man and would never touch anything like that but what had him most surprised was the fact that they were here of all places. Why would hollows be within the school system? Why would they even care for that matter? And weren't those the Arrancar who had been with Ichigo the night before? Where was he if they were here?

Renji could see the look on the girls face and could tell that something bordering on anger and hatred was brimming. Understanding that the girls must be in Gigai if the entire class could see them – as much slack jaws on everyone's faces could give away – then that meant there could be some problems. Even in Gigai some spiritual pressure could leak out and if in intense negative emotions, spiritual pressure could sometimes surface and with the current class only their group would be able to cope with spiritual pressure of Arrancar calibre.

He could actually feel the dull glint of spiritual pressure as it peaked above the level the Gigai would cloak and was ready to vacate his seat and stop the problem before he felt that same glint evaporate just as quickly. Looking at the red-haired girl where the glint had come from she could be seen as clearly angry at the looks she received but her spiritual pressure was still below the level a Gigai would let go. The blue haired girl seemed less angry and more afraid of the looks that they were receiving.

That was when some pieces were finally put together, the third member of the party that had yet to enter the room finally made himself noticed as he entered the room. He entered with a speed that did not seem entirely required when entering a classroom. Within a second he had moved across the front of the classroom and had touched the red haired girl on her shoulder which caused her to look up to him.

Everyone was only able to see the back of the third new person to enter their classroom, all they were able to see was that the person was large. He had on a large black almost trench coat, and black pants with black shoes. His right hand was extended out towards the red haired girl while his left hand stayed idly by in his left hand pocket. What had most of the class more focused on him however was the hair, if the orange hair at the top was not one of the reasons that everyone stared then the red tips were definitely a focal point. No-one had had orange hair ever since Kurosaki Ichigo and no-one had done so ever since then, the only other person with orange hair was Orihime and she had always been that way.

"Kyota, whatever has gotten you in such a bad mood?" the person asked smoothly as they did not even turn around at all as they done so, giving the red haired girl all of his attention. Kyota did not even answer him and in her clear annoyance simply indicated the audience behind the yet to be revealed boy.

The entire class were mesmerized by the interaction of the two, I was clear to see that one of the girls was claimed and by the posture of the guy no-one was going to argue with him. Yet they could tell that by what he had said something was about to go down and it was not going to be pretty.

"You will all listen in now, because I will not repeat myself" the boy began without turning around yet, "If any of you are to harm or make either Sachi or Kyota unhappy or insecure at any time then I will be forced to hurt you" the boy finished before he turned around and revealed his face to the entire class. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden revelation of his face. More so than the earlier threat. He resembled Kurosaki Ichigo almost to a tee, his face was the almost exact same build and with the orange hair one could say that it was in fact Ichigo that stood before them. They all knew that to be impossible though because he had died a year ago unfortunately.

Many people were however left staring at the man before them, many of the girls with ravenous looks of their own that could rival that of the guys earlier on if not more so. Some even cast ugly looks at the two girls in the front of the classroom as it was clear to see that the fine specimen of a man had a soft spot for those two girls. With that shirt that was modestly covering the toned chest that he clearly owned and they could clearly see the tattoos that came through the white material of the shirt. Many of the girls in the class were having their own fantasies of making the orange/red haired man their own. Little knowing that the one who had already shared something with him was within their midst.

"Excuse me sir, I can understand why you said what you did but please do not say that in my class mr…" Kyoki began whilst looking at the fine specimen of a man before her, oh if only she could have it. She would lose her job if she even tried such a thing though and prized her job and family too much to do anything like that.

"Orikume, Orikume Ryu" Ichigo answered as he turned to her and it was then that she realised that he had his eyes closed in what would almost appear to be a smile set face. Wondering exactly why the boy would possibly be smiling after what had just went down and after what he had just said she could not resist but ask him.

"Why don't you open your eyes Orikume-kun?" Kyoki asked sweetly, surprising the entire class in the way that she acfted towards the young man and she had to quickly regain her composure so that she was not found out. "I'm just a little curious is all" she asked back to her more business-like manner. Ichigo opened his eyes slightly to look at her and actually smiled this time.

"That's alright, fair question I guess, I closed my eyes cause I don't think everyone would be ready to see eyes quite like mine, they are 'different'" Ichigo explained as he could see the look of realisation dawn across the teachers face. He looked out across the classroom and could see that all eyes were on him with varying emotions hidden away within the depths of those eyes. Some were hungry some were angry and some were simply surprised.

Ichigo looked to his left and could see the still angry face of Kyota glaring out to the male population of the classroom and Ichigo knew he had made a tactical error by making them go in before him, they had been exposed to the lecherous looks of the boys and he felt terrible for it. He would make it up to them later he promised himself. Once Kyota realised that Ichigo was looking at her she turned slightly to regard him and at seeing his eyes open slightly could see the regret and guilt he held and felt her face lighten. He was sorry for what he had done and she knew it, with a small smile she indicated to him she was alright now. Ichigo then turned to his right to look at Sachi and could see that she was staring blankly at the entire classroom with a smile on her face, the complete opposite of her sister. Ichigo chuckled slightly causing Sachi to look at him.

"Sorry, just nice to see you taking this better than your sister" Ichigo said to Sachi which managed to get a response from Kyota instantly. Ichigo's head shot forwards suddenly at the physical punch he received from Kyota.

"I handled it just fine!" Kyota shouted to Ichigo as she vented furiously at what Ichigo had just insinuated, that she was not capable of taking the looks of the guys in the class, she had faced worse.

"Kyota-saaaaan, I'm really beginning to think that you don't like me much" Ichigo complained as he rubbed the back of his head where the lump was slowly beginning to form. "You hit me all the time lately, what'd I do?" he complained yet again as he stood straight again and looked at her only to see a smile on her face now. "So you hit me to make yourself feel better? That's just mean Kyota-san" Ichigo finished as Kyota just looked at him with a victorious smile on her face.

Kyota looked at him and then at the rest of the class. If she was with Ichigo then the rest of the class did not seem all that too bad, in fact the looks she had received seemed almost pointless to get in a flustered state over. In fact she realised that if she were able to elicite such reactions from these males then she only needed to change her style to suit the one that she desired and that way she could use this experience to her advantage. Looking back at Ichigo a large grin spread across her face as she began to figure out a plan in order to get herself noticed. Holding out her hand she took his and made him look at her "I think you might as well show them your eyes Ryu-kun" Kyota said to him in her usual tone.

Ichigo looked at her and then to Sachi who nodded in agreement at what her sister had said before turning back to Kyota. "You think that's a good idea?" Ichigo asked slowly as he could see Kyota slowly nodding her head, with a sigh he turned around to look at the entire class.

"Very well, I can tell by now you will all want to know why my eyes are closed so I guess you can find out now" Ichigo said as he opened his eyes and revealed to the class his golden eyes surrounded by black sclera. At the sudden revelation of his eyes most of the class were shocked into silence as they stared at the peculiar coloration of the new student's eyes.

* * *

After a very long morning I which Ichigo had to try and explain to the entire class that his eyes were the result of some strange disease that he had contracted at a young age, he was finally allowed the pleasure of lying out in the grass of the courtyard in the sun. He was currently lying on his back with the sun hitting him in the face; both Sachi and Kyota were kneeling on either side of him, acting almost like sentries.

"Girls, relax, we won't be attacked here, if I am indeed the God of Hollows then I doubt any of them are going to attack us anytime soon, and the humans here could be beaten by you two anyway" Ichigo said to the two girls as he looked up to them and noticed them both looking down at him Sachi blocking the sunlight which would otherwise be in his eyes. He then opened his eyes fully to look at them both. "Anyway, most people here are already scared of me, I could just see it in their eyes, we will be fine so just relax" Ichigo finished as both girls came to the understanding of what Ichigo meant and lay down at his sides.

"Now it's time to do one of the fun things at the breaks between classes" Ichigo said to the two girls at which Sachi popped her head up.

"What's that Ichigo-sama?" she asked innocently forgetting about the use of that name, but it was forgiven instantly by the way that Ichigo looked too her and smiled.

"First, try not to use that name, that person is supposed to be dead remember? And second, nap" Ichigo finished as he placed both of his hands behind his head and rested his head on them. Closing his eyes fully Ichigo allowed sleep to take over him. Little did he know that Sachi and Kyota had both positioned themselves so that they both fell asleep on the body of Ichigo. Sachi had her head lying on Ichigo's right pectoral while Kyota had the opposite; both had an arm reaching around and eventually touched each other's hands. And so the trio fell asleep like that until they had to wake up for the next set of classes.

* * *

_Well here you guys go, we have a new chapter for your reading delight. I apologise for the lateness but other things came up that demanded my attention. Anyway I hope that you enjoy this chapter like the others. I left it as I have so that I can delve into the feelings of the entire group of friends at the newcomer and eventual revelation of Ichigo. I apologise to those of you who may not like where this fic is going but if you are bored and just wanting the action to commence I can assure you that fighting will start in the next few chapters, just kinda got to have a story running instead of non-stop fighting. Anyway if you could please R&R that would be lovely and I shall be back later with another update - Varrukh_


	16. Chapter 16 Ichigo's Resignation

Orihime had found it rather amusing the way in which her entire group of friends could not get their heads around the identity of the new student within their class. It had annoyed most of them the entire morning. The only one who seemed to be entirely unperturbed was unsurprisingly Sado, it had clearly not taken him long to put the pieces of Sachi and Kyota alongside a man with orange/red hair who looked like Ichigo, to come to the conclusion that it was in fact Ichigo.

"That was Ichigo wasn't it?" came Renji's deep voice as everyone within the group turned to him from their various sitting positions.

Rukia sat on Renji's lap who in turn sat on the ground next to a bench. Sado was standing leaning against a tree in the middle of the school yard which Tatsuki sat at the foot of said tree. Orihime Matsumoto and Ishida were all sitting on the bench that Renji and Rukia sat near. All but Sado and Orihime turned to him in surprise at such a thing to say.

"What are you talking about pineapple?" Tatsuki asked him, even though it lacked her usual luster towards a fight with the red haired man. In such times as these Renji would usually argue back and it would degrade into karate match that he would inevitably lose. However, after hearing the way that she had answered him he knew that she was far from her usual self.

"What I am talking about is that those two girls were the very same ones who tried to save Ichigo from you and Matsumoto pummelling his face in, and that his face was enough of a giveaway for me" Renji answered back as he kept his voice even and his eyes slightly closed as he rolled off his explanation.

At being reminded of such an event Tatsuki closed her mouth and looked away from the red haired man, he may have been right about the event but he didn't have to be so blunt about it. She felt enough guilt about it already.

Renji had however noticed that both Sado and Orihime seemed unperturbed about the sudden revelation of the new looking Ichigo that had appeared within their midst. He could understand Orihime not being too surprised as she would have seen him already anyway. Sado however surprised him and he was eager to find out.

"How come you're not too surprised Sado?" Renji asked the giant man gaining his attention away from his gaze in the direction opposite them.

"Ichigo's appearance may change but his spirit and his personality will not, who he is will not change, no matter what he may be or what he may look like, it is still Ichigo" Sado answered simply as he answered much the same way as he had in the morning with Matsumoto. Once he had finished his explanation he turned his attention back to where it had been previously and at looking in the same direction as the giant man Renji found what he was looking at.

* * *

There across the yard was the spitting image of Ichigo, standing in between the forms of Sachi and Kyota he stood staring at them with his golden eyes giving off an unnatural glow as he looked at them. Renji felt a sense of familiarization rinse throughout his soul as he looked at the man at that moment. The three closed in on them and Orihime felt her breath hitch as the man who would be her boyfriend got closer to them.

"Hello there you guys, I'm glad that none of you guys ogled at Sachi and Kyota this morning, it would have really hurt me to have to hurt any of you" Ichigo said to them all softly as he stopped before all of them and surveyed the entire group.

"Just who are you anyway Orikume-san?" Ishida asked as he looked at the man who looked almost completely like the one Shinigami he would ever consider friend.

"What ever do you mean? I am who I am" Ichigo answered simply as a smile grew across his face and his eyes glinted in amusement.

"You know exactly what I mean" Uryu said to Ichigo as he stood from his seat on the bench and tried to look Ichigo straight in the eye. Only capable of doing so due to the fact that Ichigo was looking down towards him. Ichigo brought his arms from his sides and with both hands began to undo the buttons on his shirt.

"You are right I know exactly what you mean, and I think it will become clear who I am when you see this" Ichigo answered as he continued to unbutton his shirt to the bottom and the shirt opened revealing his chest. All across the chest were the tattoos that were adorned upon his body when his hollow had assumed full control on top of Hueco Mundo. However instead of being stuck to just his pecs the tattoos had continued on down his body and covered his abs before finishing just before the pants line.

"Add together these tattoos and my eyes and I think it is very clear to see that you know who I am and if you still cannot figure it out completely then I suggest that you ask Inoue or Sado, they have it sussed out already" Ichigo finished as he looked to the two that he had just described before looking back to Uryu. The boy had taken on a shocked appearance as he had been shown those tattoos again. The same ones that he had seen on the creature that had stabbed him when he had only tried to stop him from losing his humanity.

"Ichigo, it is you" Uryu remarked eventually as he smirked and moved his glasses further up his face. Others amongst them did not take the revelation all too well as could be seen by the reactions from Tatsuki and Matsumoto.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" Matsumoto screamed to the boy before her which caused no noticeable reactions from him. He simply turned his gaze upon her and looked at her intently.

"I am going to school what else would I be doing here?" Ichigo answered her as he stared at her evenly, the only thing that Matsumoto would admit was better this time was that he had not closed his eyes in that insulting reminder.

"You might be here looking through all of us to find out which is the nicest soul to devour, or you may be finding ways that you can try to destroy this group" Matsumoto answered him as she looked to him with nothing but contempt for the young man. At the slightest insinuation of devouring anyone Ichigo winced at such a thing.

"That was just disgusting; I can't even fathom eating anyone at all" Ichigo answered as he looked to her with a look that just gave off his true disgust at such things.

That was not good enough for Matsumoto though, this guy had already shown some degree of lust towards eating souls in the past and she was not ready to allow a hollow to penetrate their defences. As much as she wanted to be like everyone else and believe Ichigo for all of his worth on his assurances that he was himself again. She just could not allow herself to get quite so comfortable.

"You have though haven't you? You've eaten souls in the past and you cannot deny that you enjoyed it" Matsumoto answered him back as she looked directly at him and could see the shocked expression that took over his face after she had said this. That was all she needed to concrete her evidence against him.

Ichigo's mouth opened and closed many times before he gave up trying to form any words and simply allowed his head to slump forward in defeat. He could not deny what was essentially the truth, he was not going to lie to them. He had enjoyed it, it had been a narcotic, a source of energy. How could he not enjoy such a feeling he got from the consumption of souls?

"Do you see what I mean? He is nothing more than a beast who has managed to take human form, he is trying to get close to Orihime, his ultimate goal" Matsumoto yelled to the entire group as they all looked to her as if she had finally lost her mind. They could not deny the way that Ichigo had reacted when faced with the truth about his enjoyment of consuming souls. The way he had accepted it as if it were true seriously did make them all think about their memories of the orange haired young man.

* * *

Tatsuki had known him the longest out of everyone and as such was privy to much more of the things that made the cogs in Ichigo's mind spin around. He had matured in just under a year it seemed when they were children. Once he lost his mother he gained a determination that sent him on the up and up. He finally done what had been a challenge to him ever since he had joined the karate dojo. He beat her. And it was almost like after he had done that he signified to himself that he had reached a certain obstacle in his life and overcame it, he quit the dojo after that and Tatsuki saw less and less of him as the years went on.

Then came the events that showed her there was different realities from the one that she knew, there were different worlds which she had until then been blissfully ignorant of. She had seen Ichigo with his black kimono and massive sword and wondered what the hell he was doing, and she hated the fact that he would not tell her anything. It was as if he did not trust her any longer, did not view her as worthwhile enough to carry his burden alongside him.

Then there was the last time she had seen him before he degenerated into the beast that had hunted Orihime down. He had seemed so sure of himself that he would beat that Aizen character. She had seen the explosions as their fight escalated and had hoped beyond many levels of hope that he would be alright. Her worst fears being realised instead.

To see him as she could just now she felt many emotions running through her system and some of them she was far too scared to admit to anyone namely herself. A part of her wanted to go over there and hit him for what he had put Orihime through, to completely put him out of his misery, but there was also another part of her that begged her body to move forwards and capture him into her embrace and to tell him that everything would be alright. This was what troubled her, since seeing him she had been repressing the urge to move over to him and embrace him as she so wanted to do right now. She wanted to be closer to him, closer than she should be allowed. She knew of Orihime's love for Ichigo and could not bring herself to do that to her best friend. Although it brought her great pain to deny herself what she so wanted she just could not hurt Orihime. She had been through enough.

* * *

Rukia was far too confused with the turn of events that had taken place over the last few days. Ever since she had found out that Aizen had essentially killed Ichigo she had been shaken to her very core. That familiar force that had been Ichigo within all of their hearts had just been erased. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with the fact that Ichigo was in fact gone and was a hollow. The idiot just seemed to stupid and too lucky to die, and then he did die. It came as a shock to both her and Renji.

That was why she had stalled when she finally saw his face. between all of the three of them they could have stopped Ichigo despite their battle weary conditions, upon seeing his face though Rukia felt a weakness spread through her body. Flashes of the night she had been forced to fight the hollow contaminated Kaien had come across her vision and made it impossible for her to do such a thing again. She had him within her sights and had prepared to finish him, but once she had seen his face she could not do it, she could not kill one who meant so much to her again. It just hurt too much to do such a thing.

When she had seen that he might be back to normal her mind was not steadied in the slightest. She wanted to believe it was him but his previous actions had shown that he could be quite the animal if he were to be so inclined. That was why she found it so difficult to look Ichigo in the eye right now as it was clear to see that he was struggling with his conscience about admitting silently to the enjoyment of consuming souls.

* * *

Ichigo had no answers for them. None of them good ones anyway. He simply lifted his head and opened his mouth ready to talk before the two girls at his side stepped forward. Sachi stood to his right where Kyota stood to his left as they moved and placed themselves in front of Ichigo, separating his from the group. They looked to Matsumoto and everyone with nothing less that plain hatred in their gazes. That is until their eyes fell upon Orihime.

She had up until this point been very quiet. She had silently sat there as Matsumoto had went on as she had and at the mention and silent admittance of the soul eating enjoyment she was nothing less than shaken at such things. The look that the girls gave her turned almost venomous.

"Why do you look like that all of a sudden?" Kyota asked Orihime as her voice relayed her disgust perfectly, everyone picked up on it and as such Sado had pushed himself off of his tree and Tatsuki and Matsumoto had risen out of their chairs on the bench. "You seemed to accept Ichigo-sama this morning, you accepted him the night before that when he came here" Kyota continued as Ichigo realised that Kyota was unintentionally allowing her spiritual pressure to be released.

"Now you sit there all terrified of him suddenly, you think that the life of a hollow is easy? You think that it is disgusting that we consume souls and find it delicious? You humans eat meat, is that not essentially eating something that you enjoy?" Kyota continued as her spiritual pressure continued to rise.

"Orihime-oneechan! Answer me! Why are you acting so differently towards Ichigo-Sama?" Kyota yelled as she took a step forward which caused Orihime to flinch and cover her ears and made the rest of the group spring to action. All of them had acted as they had been used to doing by that they had instantly sprang to action and readied themselves to protect Orihime all of them had their fists ready. Orihime was left sitting in her bench seat too stunned to move due to the sudden changing of events.

Matsumoto moved to the front of the group who had readied for battle and looked directly at Kyota. "Don't threaten Orihime like that, she doesn't deserve that" she said slowly to the red haired girl with a hint of malice hidden within her words.

Those words were heard loud and clear. And the heavy layer of spiritual pressure that began to float all around Ichigo signified that he was not a happy bunny at what had been said to Kyota. Ichigo's hand appeared between the area where the two girl's shoulders met and made them part so that he could get through. Although Kyota attempted to stay still she knew better than to oppose Ichigo.

Ichigo looked directly at Matsumoto and could see in her eyes the same hatred and contempt she held for him ever since he had returned. It was as if he could not do anything at all to make this woman like him at all. He knew he was going to be hard pressed with Tatsuki but this woman was impossible. But he could not simply disregard the way that she had spoken to Kyota; the hollows would think him weak if he were to let such a thing slide. Weakness is not an option in Hueco Mundo; if you are weak you are killed.

"Do not talk to Kyota like that, speak to me however you may want but you do not have the right to speak to her like that" Ichigo said to her with the faintest hints of a threat hidden in his words as he done so. That was all that she needed.

"See that? Did you hear what he said and the way he said it? He will defend those girls over any of us, they are the ones that he cares for now, not us and especially not Orihime, he is only trying to get close to her to try and hurt her!" Matsumoto said to them all. And Orihime done one of few things that could have made the situation worse. She whimpered as she heard that almost making it seem as if she believed what Matsumoto was saying.

That almost broke Ichigo on the spot. How could she believe such things, he had said that he loved her and now she believes that it could all be a rouse so that he could get close to her and hurt her? How absurd was all of that? He was hurt, he could not believe that she would believe such things but could understand that she had come to view Matsumoto as a mother figure, one who she should be able to look up to and rely upon. Matsumoto's intentions were good but the end result was not what Ichigo had wanted. He knew that the one person in the group who he could have relied upon to stick by him even though he had put her through the most was Orihime, but now he had lost her.

* * *

Ichigo sighed in resignation, who was he kidding? After what he had done in the past how could he expect anyone to forgive him his transgressions? He would find it hard enough to forgive someone if they had done this and thinking upon it now only made him feel all the more hypocritical.

"That's not fair at all, Ichigo-sama is so nice to us because we accepted him when he was still a fully-fledged hollow" Sachi interjected heatedly as her own spiritual pressure began to rise as her sister's did earlier. Everyone looked to the usually calmer and sweeter of the two girls who had suddenly turned so angry.

Ichigo turned on the spot and faced Sachi directly, he could see the determination on her face to prove that he had good enough excuse but he could not dent seeing the unshed tears that were coming to her eyes. Her usually perpetually beautiful purple eyes were becoming blurry as the tears began to form. At that moment and time no-one else existed besides Sachi, his entire focus was solely on her.

Ichigo took Sachi's face into both of his hands and made her look directly into his eyes, indigo eyes met golden eyes and Sachi was rendered completely speechless as she stared into those beautiful golden eyes. She brought her hands up to rest them on Ichigo's arms and continued to stare into his eyes.

"Sachi, it's alright, don't let what these people here are doing bother you, it is directed at me and you don't have to worry about it, so calm down" Ichigo said to her in a soothing voice that just oozed a sort of chilled feeling from Ichigo despite the situation. Ichigo could feel the amount of spiritual pressure Sachi was giving off begin to lower again as he could tell that she was finally calming down again. He was astounded he could do this, he was the one that was getting insulted and verbally assaulted yet these girls were getting worked up about him, he had to get them out of here before they were wound up too much.

Ichigo pulled Sachi into his chest and hugged her with his left arm. Sachi wrapped both of her arms around Ichigo as he done this motion and hugged into him tightly while resting her head on his chest. Ichigo looked over the top of Sachi's head to the cause of the girl's emotional turmoil, those he had called friends, the only ones he could really give that title to just now would be Sado obviously and Uryu surprisingly enough. His eyes however found the one who just now had the most of his hatred, Matsumoto.

Ever since he had returned she had made things difficult for him, she had beaten as he had deserved when he initially came back and now she was using everything she possibly could to get all of his friends to turn against him, and the worst part was that she was largely successful. Their eyes met and golden eyes stared hatefully into baby blue eyes. Ichigo and Matsumoto's silent stare off finished eventually with Ichigo throwing in the towel with a heavy sigh.

"It would appear that this was a mistake girls" Ichigo said finally as he had both Sachi and Kyota's attention from their respective places right next to him and hugging into him. He looked to each of them individually before his face turned into a wide smile that they had not seen on him since they had fallen asleep earlier.

"It was worth a try though right? It might not have worked but I guess the fact that we at least tried counts for something" Ichigo added as his smile did not fall from his face as he looked to them. He then turned to those that had done nothing but make the majority of his two day return home anything but peaceful. His smile quickly disappeared.

"You get what you want now Matsumoto-san, if you hate me so much that what you say to me affects Sachi and Kyota then that is the last straw. I had hoped that we could at least put the past behind us to better ourselves for the future ahead, I guess not, you and a good few of the people here view me as nothing more than a monster, I had hoped to change your minds but you know what? I don't care anymore, I just know that I will not win with you people so I throw in the towel" Ichigo said as he motioned for Kyota to come closer to him, she done as instructed and found herself within his embrace too.

"I leave you all now, clearly I am no longer welcome to your group of friends. Goodbye until the next time I ever have to cross paths with you again" Ichigo finished as he released both girls from his grip and turned on the spot.

He raised his arms up into the air. After a second the skin on his Gigai began to slowly peel away until it revealed the soul of him underneath, the process quickened as it passed over his form until it reached the soles of his feet and then simply disappeared leaving Ichigo looking exactly the same as he had done in his Gigai form somehow . The ambient spiritual pressure that floated off of his body subconsciously could now be seen as red, blue and black spiritual pressures mixed and flowed over each other.

Sachi and Kyota looked to Ichigo as his spiritual body was revealed to all of them. It was glorious to say the least, his body seemed to glow without the restraint of his Gigai and he seemed to be much surer of himself. He lowered his arms again and turned his attention back onto the two girls.

"Ready to go home?" Ichigo asked both of them as he raised his eyebrow in question to both of them. Sachi looked elated at the idea and Kyota seemed only too happy to oblige too. Ichigo lifted his hands again and opened his palms towards the two girls and slowly but surely the Gigai that they had both been wearing began to slowly dissolve from their bodies. Left in place were Sachi and Kyota in their Arrancar clothes which were a mixture of a long white dress extending to a long sleeved jacket.

"Kurosaki what are you doing?" Uryu asked as he took a step forward and raised his hand out towards his friend as the orange/red haired teen finished his process of relieving the girls of their Gigai. Ichigo turned away from the girls to give the Quincy his full attention. He and Uryu had not always got on as the greatest of friends but they were capable of working together and Ichigo did deeply regret what had transpired at the top of Hueco Mundo. Now as he looked across the school yard at the Quincy he was both surprised and happy to find that the archer had become one so close to him. He had not ridiculed Ichigo once he returned and did not even seem to hold any hatred towards him for what had transpired between them. What made it best though was that he largely did not believe everything that Matsumoto had said; much like Sado he had his own opinion of Ichigo.

"I am returning home Uryu, my coming here was a mistake it would seem, I only wanted to see Orihime and show her my love. It would appear though that some things are not meant to be, I cannot hide my ugly past and I won't try to, it is a part of me." Ichigo answered as he looked over to Orihime while mentioning her, he could see the look of fear cross her face followed by a look of shame but no other reaction happened as he had hoped. Maybe hoping she would try to tell him all was alright but alas it never happened. He could see her looking to her lap with a shame filled face. Looking around all of the others he could see a pained look on Sado's face, Renji and Rukia looked completely confused as to what to do. Matsumoto was still looking at him hatefully, Tatsuki was also looking hatefully but not at him. To his surprise her glare was set in Orihime's direction.

"What about your family, will your sisters not be overly disturbed if you were to leave them again so soon?" Uryu asked trying to think of some reason to keep Ichigo long enough to sort things out. To his slight dismay he could see a slight grimace cover his face before he replied.

"Don't worry I have thought about that and I shall be going to see my family before I leave for Hueco Mundo permanently, before that however I shall be taking these pair of beautiful ladies home and then tending to my family" Ichigo answered as he motioned to the girls when talking of them. Both got a slight smile on their faces and Kyota got the slightest hint of a blush on her features. With that Ichigo turned on the spot and pointed his right hand outwards hand open and grabbed at the air before him. Tearing away he created a Garganta in front of him, stepping to his side he allowed both of the girls to walk before him. Just as he was about to walk through he turned around and looked towards the entire group.

"I doubt any of you shall do this but for your own safety I must tell you this. If you come to Hueco Mundo ask to see either the king or the God of Hueco Mundo, tell them you know me" Ichigo began to explain as he mainly directed his attention towards Uryu and Sado, the only ones he would expect to even consider coming to see him. He kept a serious face as he explained all of it that only darkened once he finished what he had to say.

"I must also warn you that you do not do anything that will temper the King of Hueco Mundo, he could quite easily give me a run for my money when he is fully unleashed" Ichigo finished as he then turned to walk alongside the two girls who were already making way through the black abyss that was the pathway between the human and hollow world. Uryu was at that moment coming to a somewhat scary conclusion as Ichigo slowly drew away from them.

"What are you Ichigo Kurosaki!" Uryu yelled after Ichigo directing his full attention to the back of Ichigo's head, Ichigo slowly turned around and gave Uryu a deep smile that he had never seen on the face of Ichigo, it looked happy but at the same time sinister.

"I'm the one thing that hollows fear enough to serve willingly; I am the one thing that Shinigami will struggle to rid the planet of. I am the God of Hueco Mundo!" Ichigo declared as the Garganta finally closed over the three forms that made their way through the black abyss towards the land of the hollows.

* * *

There was much silence for a long time, too much had happened for anyone to come up with a worthwhile response and as such they were all left sitting dumbly trying to put together what had happened. Ichigo's title did not put any of their minds to rest either, the thought of pissing off a God of a race that they were always fighting against did not appeal to any of them. What became apparent to everyone though was the change in their surroundings. While Ichigo had been there everything had seemed brighter, the trees seemed much more majestic and beautiful and the plants appeared to be in full bloom and standing tall. With the absence of Ichigo though everything seemed to dull down and wither a bit, it was as if Ichigo had taken some of their life force with him.

"Did Ichigo just call himself a God of hollows?" Renji asked dumbly as he simply stared into space after asking the question something came to his mind that he did not entirely like. "Is he becoming like Aizen and losing his mind a bit by thinking that he is a God or something?" Renji asked only to receive an opinion in his face in the form of a feminine fist. He took the blow with a grunt of pain and turned to look at the perpetrator and to his surprise found not Orihime but Tatsuki who had in fact punched him.

Everyone could not believe this sudden turn of events, Tatsuki never acted out anything like this and would only usually hit Renji if they were in one of their frequent scuffles. Considering also what Renji had just said to have such an effect on Tatsuki was surprising. She was not done with just that punch though and divulged. Going on to release her newfound hatred.

"None of that should have happened!" Tatsuki screamed to all of them casting a look over every single one of them save Uryu and Sado. "Ichigo should not have had to go through any of that!" Tatsuki continued on as she took a step forward into the circle of friends.

"What are you talking about Tatsuki?" Matsumoto asked the girl warily as she could see the hatred welling up in the young girls eyes and did not like its source at all. "You do realise that the way you are acting is working exactly as I said it would, he has spread the seed of doubt within our group and now you think he is in fact innocent? He is not, if he is the God of the hollows then he only has on his mind what hollows do… their next meal" Matsumoto explained hoping beyond all hopes that the girl was understanding where she was coming from with this.

"That is not Ichigo, I saw it in his eyes, he is not like you are trying to make him out to be" Tatsuki answered her evenly as she turned away from Matsumoto, as far as she was concerned the argument was over and she no longer cared for it. Matsumoto was however not on the same wavelength.

"What are you talking about, that is the same thing that wanted Orihime dead not too long ago! You were just as angry with him as I was! Why are you so suddenly on his side!" Matsumoto yelled to the black haired teen as she made her slow progress away from the group of friends. Tatsuki stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around with her eyes dead set in hatred. Sado and Uryu were instantly by her side if just to make sure that she did not unleash.

"Was he not the one who saved Orihime though? Did he not stop that hollow from killing her? Did he also not take our beating as if he deserved it? He did not deserve that at all. I hate myself for doing that and as such I want to make him know that I do not hate him, do whatever you want from now but count me out" Tatsuki said to Matsumoto with such hate in her voice that if it had a tangible presence it would almost likely kill someone.

"You would abandon Orihime like that!" Matsumoto shrieked at the sudden change in Orihime's Guardian. How could one who protected Orihime so zealously turn her back on Orihime so easily it was absurd! Orihime had looked up to her best friend after hearing Matsumoto screech like that and was met with the hateful glare of Tatsuki, a look she never received from Tatsuki, until now.

"You have no idea what you had did you? Did you never once think about what he must have went through? I never until after I talked to him last night. He went through hell to come back here to you, the only person he seemed to love and what do you do to him! You downright fear him and feel disgusted with him for what he has done in the past! How could you do that to him?" Tatsuki spat at her best friend as Orihime sat there and simply took the verbal destruction coming her way. How could she deny what Tatsuki was saying when it was very well true. When she had heard that it had indeed disgusted and scared her to think of Ichigo in that way. She had felt like that was not the boy she had fallen in love with but the beast that had taken his place, Matsumoto's reasoning was making sense to her. In following with Matsumoto's reasoning though she had lost faith from Tatsuki.

"None of you have any real idea why he left though do you?" Tatsuki asked them neutrally as she dared them to suggest what she knew they would. No-one answered her though already knowing that she was far too high on her hatred to even attempt to listen to anyone. "It was not even because you were all bringing him down, it was because of the reason that I know that is Ichigo, and the one that I remember" Tatsuki began as she eyed Orihime with not hatred but now disappointment. "He left because what we were saying to him was hurting those girls, they hated hearing him getting cussed and were getting worked up, he wanted them away from us to keep them from getting worked up" Tatsuki finally concluded as she could see the dumbstruck faces all around her after she finished her explanation. "He protected them" Tatsuki finalised before she walked off back into the school.

* * *

What Tatsuki left in her wake was a group of people feeling rather ashamed; they had not composed themselves in a very fair manner. None were feeling quite as bad as Orihime was currently, how could she have been so blind about it all, of course that was the reason he acted that way around those girls, he was protecting them. Only now did she fully realise the implications her few actions had done upon Ichigo, she had allowed him to believe she was disgusted and afraid of him and as such she had shown him her resignation of faith in him. That must have hurt and been partly why he had left.

Rukia was really struggling with her thinking process just now, far too much was going through her head just now , had they all just lost their last opportunity to have any resemblance of the relationships they used to share with Ichigo? Had their actions there been all that was needed to show Ichigo they no longer cared about him? This did not help the mind of Rukia at all, her dilemma with Ichigo was if anything just getting worse. Renji would definitely be hearing about this later, out of everyone he was the only one she could ever talk to about anything at all.

Renji was left just as confused as he had been before, he was rather unsure what to make of the situation. He could understand that Ichigo was not all to blame but also that he was partly but he accepted the blame. Renji had to admire that in Ichigo, the fact that he did in fact admit to being very wrong in the way he conducted himself in the past. Renji also missed Ichigo for the most part as he had hoped with Ichigo's return he and Ichigo could act as they had done in the past and bickered as friends do. Alas he did not really get the chance to talk to Ichigo as Matsumoto was the one who done all she could to get rid of Ichigo. He could not fault Matsumoto though either, she was simply protecting Orihime from any possibilities, even something that seemed less likely to happen.

Uryu and Sado stood where they had to stop Tatsuki attacking until the bell for next class sounded seconds later. They turned on the spot without uttering a word and made their way to their next class followed by the rest of the group as they all had their individual thoughts about what had just so recently transpired.

* * *

_**Later that night**_

Urahara opened the door to his shop which had been getting hammered for a good few minutes, although honestly he was only here because Yoruichi threatened to do bad things to him if he didn't answer the door, and not the good kind of bad things. To his somewhat surprise he found Tatsuki standing outside of his house.

"I'm going to guess you want Yoruichi then Arisawa-san?" Urahara asked sleepily as he turned around to shout into the shop only to be stopped by Tatsuki grabbing onto his sleeve. He turned back to look at her and could see an almost desperate look on her face.

"What is wrong my dear?" Urahara asked as he could simply see that look on her face and looked down into her face more only to fins tears threatening to spill. He had seen something like this only more than a day before and without further ado ushered Tatsuki into his shop and took her to the back room in order to prepare her some tea. Urahara could see from the very way that Tatsuki was walking that she was not in her usually confident and angry ways but in fact in a rather more calmer and withdrawn way.

Moving into the room with the small table Tatsuki sat at the table and waited for Urahara to make the tea. He soon reappeared and gave her a cup of tea which she gladly accepted.

"Now Arisawa-san, how can I help you?" Urahara asked as he prepared himself for a long winded answer, he had felt his Gigai disappearing to nothing and Ichigo's spiritual pressure disappearing so had a good idea where this was going to go, Tatsuki took a deep breath and readied herself.

"I need some help…" Tatsuki began as Urahara prepared to listen to why she in fact needed his help.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo Throne Room**_

Zakabe was sitting on his throne with his head resting on his right hand, damn hollows and their insatiable appetite when fighting. He had tried to fight with some of the hollows who still wished to do so but they only agreed to when it was all of them against him, of course he agreed to it when it meant he could vent out some of his recently accumulating anguish and anger. None of those hollows could come anywhere near to his level though and as of right now he felt unfulfilled and very bored, he wished Ichigo was here right now, at least he would give him a run for his life.

At such a thought Zakabe looked up to the centre of the throne room to see the shimmering of a Garganta beginning to form. The Garganta smashed and the form of Ichigo with flowing red/orange hair which was behind a white bull horned mask came flying towards him. A large cleaver was in his hands too, ready to swipe at him.

"ZAKABEE!" Ichigo yelled at the top of his voice as he closed the distance and Zakabe was able to deflect his blow if only by the slightest of margins. The sheer amount of spiritual pressure coming from Ichigo in his anger and the amount Zakabe required to hold him back began to make the entire room crumble until Zakabe pushed back with all his might and sent Ichigo back to the centre of the throne room and stood opposite him, Zanpaktou poised and ready to fight , as was Ichigo's.

* * *

_Well here you go my followers, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I hope also that you might enjoy my new Naruto fic that I have begun. Anyway I shall not go into too many details, I hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next ones too come because I look forward to writing them. As always R&R if you kindly and I shall see you in my next instalment of whatever I write next thank you for reading, your author - Varrukh_


	17. Chapter 17 Stress Relief

He could see the pain being perfectly portrayed in those golden eyes, the pain of rejection, but there was also hatred there, hatred bridling with rage. He was really going to have his work cut out for him if he were to stay alive.

"Now then, mind telling me why you so suddenly want to fight me sir?" Zakabe asked Ichigo as they both stood opposite each other with their Zanpaktou drawn and prepared for a strike, Ichigo's mask was also on at that moment and time too. Due to the mask Zakabe was unable to see any reaction that would give him any hints, and as such was unprepared when Ichigo leapt into the air towards him with his Zanpaktou drawn back and prepared to slash at Zakabe.

On instinct Zakabe leapt backwards and deflected the swipe at him whip sent a ripple through the very air as he landed on the ground and skidded a small bit further away from Ichigo. Zakabe straightened himself again as he looked at the form of Ichigo, he had on a black trench coat and pants with a white shirt. Zakabe could make out the faintest hints of his tribal tattoos that were hidden beneath the shirt, but what was most different definitely had to go to the hair, he had not seen orange flow effortlessly into red before, but it looked kind of good.

The other things that Zakabe took notice of was the Zanpaktou that Ichigo now held within his right hand. It was like a huge elegant cleaver that Zakabe instinctively knew was a Zanpaktou. Ichigo raised the gigantic cleaver over his head, Zakabe watched as spiritual pressure took tangible form and began to flow around his blade, blue in colour. He could hear Ichigo beginning to roar as the spiritual pressure began to pool to his Zanpaktou.

"This is going to hurt isn't it?" Zakabe asked himself as he watched the pure show of power taking form. Not wanting to become good friends with death again Zakabe began to pool his own spiritual pressure into his own Zanpaktou that he still had at his side. His blade began to glow with a deep green glint. Zakabe kept his spiritual pressure condensed into his Zanpaktou until he saw Ichigo bringing his Zanpaktou downwards, Zakabe responded in kind by bringing his Zanpaktou upwards to oppose Ichigo's swing.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

"CERO!"

Both blocks of spiritual pressure met in a fantastic explosion of spiritual pressure in the centre of the throne room. Two crescent moon shaped forces cut at right angles and caused a cataclysmic explosion of spiritual pressure. Ichigo and Zakabe were blasted right into opposing walls as this had happened. Zakabe quickly corrected himself and landed on the ground in a kneeling position as he reeled from the force of spiritual pressure he and Ichigo had just unleashed, there was no doubt in his mind that every hollow in Las Noches felt that one.

Zakabe looked up just in time to see Ichigo speeding across the floor towards him with his sword set across his abdomen. With a swipe he had collided his Zanpaktou with Zakabe's one. This time Zakabe was able to hold his ground and was able to get a closer look at Ichigo, he looked ravenous, he looked angry, most of all though, he looked hurt. Ichigo swiped again with his Zanpaktou and broke off the contact between the opposing Zanpaktou.

"Things not go quite so well then?" Zakabe asked as he lowered his sword while addressing Ichigo, they may be able to fight on close to the same terms but Ichigo was still the God of Hueco Mundo and he was the King, pecking order dictated Ichigo demanded the respect, even if he did not ask for it. Zakabe saw Ichigo's eyes looking away for a split second before refocusing back on Zakabe with those pain filled eyes. He knew he had gotten that right the second Ichigo looked away; it was as if he still did not want to admit it to himself.

"You could say that" Ichigo answered as his mask fell away from his face and Zakabe could now look upon the broken form of Ichigo's face after whatever had transpired in the world of the living. The large cleaver that Ichigo held was placed against the floor as he leaned on it.

"SO how do we work this out then?" Zakabe asked straight away knowing the best way to relieve tension, and honestly he needed it himself too. Ichigo looked up to Zakabe and could see the grin that was plastered across his face, admittedly Ichigo already knew what Zakabe had in mind and to be entirely honest it did not seem like too bad of an idea. Ichigo picked his Zanpaktou up and prepared himself as did Zakabe at Ichigo's movement.

"I don't know, how would you like to do this?" Ichigo asked as he could already feel the stress starting to roll off of his body as he and Zakabe talked together, the grin on Zakabe's face only managed to grow as he was given the chance to choose how they fought out their stress.

"I see that your mask looks almost identical to mine, how about we decide this through our masks and our skills with our Zanpaktou, our raw fighting skills that is" Zakabe finished, no way was he getting caught with one of those Getsuga's again. Those things were just plain scary.

"That sounds like a challenge, I like it, although I have to ask when did you get a mask like mine? I thought you would lose your mask to become an Arrancar?" Ichigo asked as he finally understood what Zakabe had said about masks. Zakabe just smiled at Ichigo.

"First of all, I am far older than you so IT WAS MINE FIRST, secondly I don't know why but I have the ability to summon my hollow mask and increase my power to whole new levels, like an Arrancar releasing their Zanpaktou" Zakabe explained as he reached up to his face and prepared his hand to create his mask.

"So does that mean you don't have a Zanpaktou release if you use a mask instead?" Ichigo asked after initially getting over the fact a hollow could do what Visoreds could do, it was like he was a combination between Visored and Arrancar, scary. At that question Zakabe felt a grin o sinister form on his face that even he would look at a reflection of himself and shit himself.

"Oh I never said that, I just never release my Zanpaktou" Zakabe answered as he swiped his hand across his face and brought out his hollow mask. Ichigo stared at it in surprise, it looked like the one his hollow had worn when he had been dragged into his soul to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou. The mask was the same form as his and the only differences were the fact that it was a completely black mask and that the stripes crossing the eyeholes were deep green instead of his red.

Ichigo not wishing to be outdone so soon brought his hand to his face and clawed at the air around his face creating his own hollow mask with the complete contrast of colours from Zakabe's mask adorning his own. Simultaneously both of them leaned back and in a split second sent their heads forward. Between the horns on both of their masks their respective cero's began to burn and bloom as they grew in size and magnitude.

With a roar both released their cero's, green met red as the two ceros fought it out for supremacy in the throne room of Hueco Mundo. What they both neglected to notice were the three female presences that were within the room too, even if they were standing next to a widely opened door in case of emergency escape, which looked possibly sooner rather than later.

"Those two are really scary with their power levels you know that?" Sera said to the two girls at her said as all three of them watched the cero battle that still raged between Ichigo and Zakabe. Sachi looked to her and done her usual where she simply smiled in understanding but did not add anything to the conversation, it was her sister that done that for her.

"They are the King and God of Hueco Mundo, they do kind of have to be on a power level where hollows like us are basically fearing for our lives being in the same room as them" Kyota answered back as her attention did not stray from Ichigo. His hair billowed behind his head as the power behind the cero blasted wind past his head. His clothes also billowed in the wind being upturned.

The battle between the ceros was getting so overdrawn that the sheer heat from the two attacks was beginning to build up, the girls could feel the sweat beginning to form on their bodies and could only imagine what the two men were going through, even if some thoughts about sweaty men were met with delight.

And just like that both of the cero's had disappeared, just as suddenly as that the heat source that had steadily been growing suddenly left and gave a vacuum of cold air place to return to. Ichigo and Zakabe stood looking at each other through their masks, if they could see under each mask the grin of their opponent would be evident at this time.

Ichigo brought his Zanpaktou up to waist level whereas Zakabe lifted his own up to his chest level and they stared at each other. One second both of them were visible, the next they had snapped out of existence only to reappear high in the air where Ichigo brought his Zanpaktou down hard on Zakabe's, who had to block with one hand on his blade. Pushing Ichigo away, Zakabe made to slash at Ichigo's back while he had been tuned.

Ichigo was too quick to be hit by such an attack and twisted in mid-air to deflect the blow, both men grunted at the application of force onto their blades. With a chuckle Zakabe disappeared again and reappeared back down on the throne room floor.

"How about we limit this to the ground only, wouldn't be much fun if there weren't any rules" Zakabe said as he swung his Zanpaktou out in front of his, catching Ichigo's Zanpaktou mid-swing.

"You're getting good" Ichigo commented on the way Zakabe had been able to deflect his blow without even seeing him moving all that much. Zakabe merely scoffed as he looked to Ichigo.

"You're just predictable" Zakabe joked as he forced against Ichigo's Zanpaktou and sent him a fair distance back. "My turn to go on the offensive" Zakabe said with a voice that betrayed nothing but his sheer enjoyment of what was going on between the two, ah it had been far too long since he had enjoyed a good fight.

Zakabe ran across the ground at Ichigo, he raised his Zanpaktou high into the air in his right hand and charged in even faster. Ichigo moved to defend against the attack, taking into account that it was within Zakabe's right hand Ichigo prepared to block more from his left side. To his dismay however as Zakabe brought his Zanpaktou downwards he threw it to his left hand which was upcoming at an alarming rate. Zakabe grabbed it within his left hand and brought his Zanpaktou upwards in a quick motion. The Zanpaktou passed over Ichigo's chest and abdomen with little resistance and caused a large gash to appear on his body. Zakabe was ready to apologize before he saw the glint that came over the visible eye of Ichigo. He was enjoying it now.

"So were going to draw blood Zakabe, I think I might just like this game, so long as neither of us die this ought to be fun!" Ichigo roared as he shot his head backwards and laughed deeply with his mask mimicking the movement to the tee. With that same movement the shirt that had been slashed vertically fell away it it's cut ends and revealed Ichigo's body to the world. Sera had to mentally remind herself who it was that she loved so that she did not feel the need to pounce her God.

Sachi and Kyota however did not have to supress such thoughts and as such simply stared on in awe at the body of the God that stood across the room laughing evilly and readying himself to fight more. The spiritual pressure began to dance off of him as his laughing continued. Soon enough Zakabe's form was covered in spiritual pressure too as he joined in the laughter, this was going to be a great fight indeed for both of them.

Ichigo sidestepped before he charged in at Zakabe from his right side, lowering his Zanpaktou Ichigo readied himself to slash upwards and as he closed in on Zakabe enough he done just that. Zakabe crossed his Zanpaktou with Ichigo's but did not take into account his monstrous rise in spiritual pressure and his Zanpaktou was forced upwards and into the air. Ichigo's blade continued onwards however as it made its way into the flesh of Zakabe cutting through fabric and flesh, leaving an identical scar on his chest to Ichigo.

Zakabe grunted in pain and looked to his wound while covering it with his hand. It was barely seconds later when he wiped the blood onto his hand and swiped it to the floor, that was when his laughter returned.

"I guess the favour is returned! Let's go!" Zakabe yelled as he leapt forwards and brought his sword downwards on Ichigo and dug him into the ground from the sheer force. Ichigo grunted under the power and swiped his sword and shooting Zakabe off of him, carried with the momentum Ichigo continued into a twist in which he jumped out of his self-embedded hole.

Ichigo vanished for a second before he had closed the gap on Zakabe and swiped his Zanpaktou again at the King and the King repaid in kind. Their Zanpaktou met in yet another great clash that kicked up dirt and dust from the two combatants. Both forced away with the fullest of their force and sent each other across the room where they skidded to a stop.

Now let it be known that a female Arrancar enjoys the ability to know that she is able to look after herself and if she does in fact want a mate, she will make sure that they are one who is strong and won't be beaten easily. In essence to female Arrancar, the stronger the males are the more attractive they are, and seeing as Sera Sachi and Kyota were watching as the two most powerful Arrancar in existence were fighting it out right before them. Well… never had any of them felt this hot under the collar at such a show.

Ichigo and Zakabe were at opposite ends of the hall and were panting lightly, both were chuckling deeply at their bout which was anything but boring for both of them, their angers and stresses were being worked away and damn did it not feel nice to fight someone capable of holding their own.

Ichigo extended his hand outwards with his palm facing Zakabe. Zakabe could see the intent instantly and mirrored his action perfectly. Green spiritual pressure and red spiritual pressure began to pool to their hands respectively and create balls of condensed energy.

"You want to finish this off already?" Zakabe asked if just slightly disappointed that it would be over so soon, but he had had fun and damn did he not feel leagues better now. He did not need to hear ichigo's reply because he got an eyeful of his answer when Ichigo's cero only increased in size and became almost as large as he was tall. "Guess so" Zakabe finished off for himself as he increased his cero to the same size too.

For the second time in their fight both of them let loose a roar so demonic, it was as if they were not hollows but real demons simply put on the same plane as hollows, their masked reflected their mouth's movements and at that second the ceros shot out towards their contrasting opposite. When both forces met, as expected in created a huge explosion in spiritual pressure and sent both of them flying into the adjacent wall from each other.

* * *

As the dust, smoke and residual spiritual pressure finally vacated the area the five hollows were left in a throne room that had seen better days. The podium that the throne sat upon had been destroyed completely with no trace of the chair itself either. There were hundreds of indentations in the ground where Zakabe and Ichigo had traded blows with just their Zanpaktou. Those lead to the one massive crater that had been left due to two ceros blasted over the exact same area.

Aside from the destruction it was pretty tame for the two of them, neither of them had gone all out and there was no doubt in the females minds that if the fourth Espada and above could destroy Las Noches with just their releases, and these two men who were walking towards them were even more powerful than them, then they could destroy Las Noches by going all out… wait. They were walking towards them? All of the women thought simultaneously before the realised that Ichigo and Zakabe were indeed right in front of all three of them, sweaty, breathing heavy and in the minds of all the ladies not half bad looking.

Ichigo and Zakabe were walking with their arms over each other's shoulders with large smug grins plastered across their faces. Sera was the one to take the initiative with the two of them as Kyota and Sachi had become very interested in the floor.

"Did you two enjoy yourselves then?" Sera asked as she folded her arms across her chest and looked at the two of them in a disdainful manner to which both men adopted an embarrassed expression that Sera had to admit was adorable, more so on Zakabe's face than Ichigo's but she would not deny it being cute on his face too.

"Very much so Sera-san" Zakabe answered her warmly as a smile she had not seen in a long time made its way onto his face. That was a smile she had not seen in a long time, she had not seen that smile since… Zurak. He hadn't acted like this ever since then either and at thinking in this manner Sera looked at Ichigo in wonderment, it was amazing this man Zakabe had known less than half a month had stormed in and healed over the wound that had so terribly affected Zakabe. Silently she thanked Ichigo for healing the heart of the man she loved.

"Sachi? Kyota? What's wrong? Did I embarrass you?" Ichigo asked as he could see that both girls could not look him in the eye, instead finding the ground to be far more appealing to look at. Ichigo became concerned just like the person he was and moved over to the pair of them, standing directly before them he reached out with both of his hands and gently tipped their heads back by their chins so that they looked at him. "Did I scare you?" Ichigo asked softly as he could see the way that the girls eyes widened in surprise, he thought that they didn't want to look at him out of fear? Oh hell no, fear had bugger all to do with it.

"No, no not at all Ichigo-sama!" Kyota struggled to say to him as she tried her absolute hardest to look anywhere but his eyes, she knew for a fact that her own eyes would give her away in an instant. Ichigo could see the way that she diverted her gaze away from him even as she tried to deny it, he really hated it when people feared him, especially those he cared for. With a heavy sigh he dropped his arms to his side and nodded his head.

"Very well, if you need me I shall be in my quarters" Ichigo drawled out as he moved past Zakabe and could instantly be called out due to his expression, Zakabe had seen that face and the memories that went along with it were not the prettiest of ones. He allowed Ichigo to pass him and instantly turned on the two girls who had so absent-mindedly hurt Ichigo on a psychological level. He did not know what had transpired in the real world but to cause Ichigo so much pain and anger it must have been tough, and these two he had risked his life in the past to save were obviously not making things better on him.

"What happened, both then and now?" Zakabe ordered more than he asked the two girls as he stared deeply into the mixture of purple and emerald eyes. The girls looked to each other before they began to answer the question their king had posed to them, they watched as Zakabe's face began to contort in obvious distaste at what he was hearing, he was happy that the Kurosaki family had accepted him so graciously, those other humans however, let's just say less word would be spoken in place of more blows. Once the girls had finished their explanation up until the point they had lost Ichigo in the Garganta where he charged ahead to fight with him.

Zakabe nodded his head as he understood now why Ichigo was in such a pained and furious mood, truth be told he was angry himself, damn humans quite clearly did not know who it was they were psychologically torturing. He placed those thoughts to the back of his mind however as he looked at both of the girls again and raised his eyebrow.

"Now would you mind telling me why _you _two treated him differently after our fight, surely you have seen him fight before and anyway only he and I are capable of holding the other at bay. So I ask you, why did you both not look him in the eyes?" Zakabe asked them both as he felt annoyed at the insinuation of them being afraid of Ichigo; he was the one who saved them from certain death Damnit.

"I couldn't" Kyota answered quietly while Sachi just kept as silent as ever whilst still looking to the floor in shame, Sera could see the way that Sachi looked in shame and understood now, it was not fear that they felt for Ichigo, it was something far more different, on the opposite end of the fear spectrum. Sera had to stop Zakabe in his ministrations before he made the girls reveal something that they felt ashamed about.

"Why could you not look at the man who cares about you in the eyes?" Zakabe asked, his annoyance coming through loud and clear now as he continued to bombard the girls with his questions. Three things happened at once, Kyota went to reply with anger flaring onto her face at not being left alone even if it was her king. Sera moved to stand in front of Zakabe so as to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand but she was only able to do so only too late. The third thing that happened came in the form of Sachi's screaming voice.

"IT'S BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM!" Sachi screamed at the back of Sera's head, Sera may well have been in the way but Zakabe heard that clearly and moving Sera to the side gently he looked to Sachi who had tears running down her cheeks from her glorious indigo eyes. Kyota sighed heavily as Sachi was once again to give away something that was so close to both of them, but now it was out there and they needn't worry about hiding it anymore from their king.

"We saw the way that you both fought and we found ourselves wanting Ichigo-sama on whole new levels that we should not want him, he views us almost like his own children or as sisters at best, it hurts that he thinks of us like that when we love him on a level he won't ever love us" Kyota explained for her sister as the other girl had simply dissolved into tears upon the shoulder of Sera who softly stroked the young Arrancar's hair.

"I see, you have my apologies girls I did not know it was anything like that at all" Zakabe replied very solemnly as he felt rather bad now at making the girls admit to something that was clearly bothering them deeply.

"Girls I think you had better come with me, we will get you cleaned up and then we will talk to Ichigo-sama okay?" Sera said as she made to move from the spot but she was stopped when Sachi grabbed her arms around Sera's form effectively stopping her in her tracks. Sera looked at the face of the girl only to see terror in those beautiful indigo eyes.

"Ichigo-sama can't know that we feel like this, he loves that inoue-sama and we are meagre hollows compared to him" Sachi said in her terror stricken voice, Sera looked to the girl surprised by the content of her plea and looked at the usually more opinionated girl of the duo to see that same fear in her eyes. Zakabe watched the exchange in morbid surprise too, the girls had been jubilant and sure of themselves the week prior to them leaving, now they both seemed somewhat scared.

"From what you tell me she does not deserve his love at all however" Zakabe supplied for both girls who looked in surprise to their king who's sapphire eyes burned with a passion they had yet to see. "You said that she changed the way she acted around him right? And that when she whimpered slightly and things almost got out of hand she said nothing? Done nothing? Then I tell you she does not deserve Ichigo's love like you both do" Zakabe finished as he stood before both of them, that was his first real speech to anyone so he felt rather elated and worried he screwed it up. His sapphire eyes sparkled after e finished and Sachi and Kyota found themselves captivated within his eyes.

"Okay come on girls let's get you all cleaned up, we can talk to Ichigo-sama some other day if that makes you feel any better?" Sera said to both girls as they nodded their heads in the affirmative to what Sera suggested. Sera lead the two girls out of the destroyed throne room. Before she left completely she stopped and turned her head to Zakabe with a sly grin on her face.

"You do realise you're cleaning all that up?" Sera asked as her grin grew when Zakabe smiled, clearly missing what she had in fact said to him.

"Yes don't worry about it S…. Wait a minute!" Zakabe yelled all too late as he could hear the evil laughter that came from down the hallway coming from none other than the blonde beauty that was Sera, damn beautiful woman.

* * *

Zakabe looked around the throne room at the mess he and Ichigo had so miraculously managed to create, with a scoff Zakabe thought about how ludicrous it was for Sera to think he'd clean that mess up, he'd just make it his and Ichigo's fighting arena, there were plenty of other rooms that could be the throne room anyway. With these thoughts in mind Zakabe walked out of the throne room and headed on his way to Ichigo's chambers, the man would be needing some company.

Walking into his quarters Zakabe could see Ichigo sitting upon his bed. His room was particularly bare despite his title amongst the hollows, it was what Zakabe expected though, Ichigo did not like a lot of commotion to go on around him, it made him feel uneasy. As such Zakabe walked up behind Ichigo sitting on the bed and rested his right hand upon his lord's shoulder. Ichigo did not flinch in the slightest as he felt the comforting hand resting on his shoulder.

"I heard things did not go all too well then?" Zakabe said to Ichigo as Ichigo just let loose a drawn out sigh while staring out the large window of his room, well truth be told it was one of the walls in his room was not there and acted as his window to the whole of Hueco Mundo. This would be the only thing considered befitting of a God, the view of his entire realm. Ichigo stood up and moved over to the right side of his 'window' and leant against the wall to his right. Staring out over the distance of his realm Ichigo could see, feel and sense all that went on. He was home.

"Not entirely no, most of them were not all too happy with me being home" Ichigo responded sadly as he stared out endlessly to the expanse of Hueco Mundo. "It would not have bothered me too much had it not been for the fact that Orihime was afraid of me again, I could just see it in her eyes that even thought it was really me, parts of her mind would not accept I was not still the mindless creature that wanted to eat her" Ichigo continued as he let loose yet another deep sigh at his predicament.

"Is it not clear to see that the woman is being unreasonable? I mean you save her life, confess your love to her and then by the next day she fears you for past transgressions not under your control, in all honesty that is not worthy of your current mood on the situation" Zakabe said to Ichigo as he could feel his own blood beginning to boil.

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo asked as he turned from the large window he had been staring out of and focussed in on Zakabe.

Zakabe was not at all fazed by Ichigo's sudden change in demeanour towards him as he had expected as much after the words he had spoken, it was his intended outcome after all. "What I mean is, will you really give your love away to one who will only fear you for it? Do not allow your mind to think she is the only one, there are plenty others out there, ones who will not fear you" Zakabe explained as he knew he had ichigo's attention for his explanation.

"If we go by that logic then the only one who would be able to deserve my love would be you Zakabe, you don't fear me needlessly, you respect me" Ichigo responded as he smiled at Zakabe who in turn smiled back.

"Well sorry sir but even on command I 'aint gonna swing that way" Zakabe joked as Ichigo managed to finid it within himself to laugh too, it was nice to feel the slightest amount of joy amongst the hardships of life.

"That's a shame although I think I will count myself lucky there, Sera-chan would not be so forgiving I don't think" Ichigo joked as he could see the face of Zakabe turning a shade of pink he had not seen on the kings face before. "How are things with Sera-chan then?" Ichigo asked in a slow manner as he looked to his comrade warmly.

"Well, a few days ago we talked things out and I have somewhat come to terms with the circumstances surrounding myself Zurak and Sera, I just don't think I'm ready to make a move anything like that yet" Zakabe explained as he did not once move his sights from Ichigo, just waiting for him to make a smart arse comment.

"That's not too bad, maybe now you'll give the girl a chance, I could see the way she looked at you in the week that I was still here, and to be honest I felt bad the way she couldn't get your attention" Ichigo said as he moved back over to his bed but instead stood before it where Zakabe sat on the bed.

"She had my attention, I was not as ignorant to her feelings at all but my logic and guilt would not allow me to act upon my base urges and I still felt too devoted to Zurak to even think about Sera in that way" Zakabe explained as he looked to Ichigo with a deeply serious face this time, it was here that Ichigo realised just how much Zurak meant to Zakabe.

"I see, well I guess I can understand that, think about your friends before yourself, I definitely knew that" Ichigo responded as he smiled at Zakabe and then with a flash Ichigo's face looked deep in concentration. "No, I know that still, you have become one of the few people left who does not fear me needlessly, for that I guess I can say your one of the closest friends I got" Ichigo finished as Zakabe smiled warmly at what Ichigo had said, truth be told it was the same way for him too.

"It's good to see you in a better mood now sir, also I would ask that you don't worry too much about the Solis sisters" Zakabe said as he began to walk out of Ichigo's room to which Ichigo looked up.

"What do you mean? They both fear me too" Ichigo asked depressed while Zakabe simply chuckled, stopping at the doorframe to Ichigo's room.

"I'm going to guess you shall tell me you were ignorant of the blushes that were lightly showing on the girl's faces?" Zakabe asked as he continued to laugh lightly at Ichigo's expense, this slightly caused Ichigo to get annoyed in which he leapt off his bed and went to hit Zakabe, all with a smile too.

"What the hell are you talking about Zakabe?" Ichigo asked the king as Zakabe's grin only slightly grew as he realised Ichigo really was clueless to that fact. Then he flew his hand out to grab Ichigo's impending fist that would connect with his face otherwise.

"Female Arrancar are attracted to power, the stronger a male Arrancar is the more attracted a Female Arrancar shall be to them. Now tell me, you and I are the two most powerful Arrancar within these walls, with your excellent deduction skills work out why they couldn't look you in the eye" Zakabe finished as he walked out of the room entirely. Ichigo only took seconds to work out what Zakabe was basically yelling in front of his face.

"You have got to be kidding me" Ichigo said more to himself than anybody else as his face grew rather warm and changed colour to a more red colouration.

_It would appear not Ichigo, I mean even from in here I could smell the attraction from them, either you cannot smell anything at all, or enjoyed the scent_ came the unisex voice from within his head which signified the Hogyoku's existence. The words he spoke left the rest of Ichigo's face lighting up before his nose exploded with blood and he keeled over backwards.

If anyone could hear the Hogyoku while he was within Ichigo's mind they would hear him at this one moment and time laughing his ass off alongside Shiro and Zangetsu who had joined in by now.

* * *

_**The Real World**_

The day had gone from bad to worse from what he had heard, if what Tatsuki had told him was anything to go on and his experience with the girl told him it was. Ichigo had given up hope and returned to the realm of hollows broken. Urahara stood in his large training area staring at the young girl at this one moment and time. She had changed her expression several times ever since she had made it to his humble little shop. She had been worried and scared even when she first came in telling him of the happenings with Ichigo and what had transpired earlier in the day.

She had been reduced to tears as she had talked about the way she had acted towards Ichigo and Urahara was reminded of the night before when Ichigo had come into his shop with his resolve almost drained out of him. Then when she told of the way he looked before he left and what he had said she looked terrified but it was what she had told him next that surprised him most about the fiery young girl.

She had told him that she thought she may in fact love Ichigo, which really did shock Urahara, he had not seen that one coming but also thought to the matter at hand being the way Orihime felt about Ichigo which both of them understood. Tatsuki however no longer seemed to care as if she had disowned Orihime for her actions towards Ichigo, even if it was rather hypocritical of herself.

So now here he stood in his underground training area of his own creation with Tatsuki staring at the young girl.

"Are you sure about this Arisawa-san?" Urahara repeated once again to Tatsuki, receiving a nod in confirmation Urahara sighed and continued onwards. "When you are travelling you must concentrated the spiritual pressure within the Garganta to your feet to make a pathway in front of you, otherwise you will fall into a black abyss" Urahara explained receiving another nod from Tatsuki.

"That or you could just follow me" a voice spoke out from behind them which took them both by surprise, neither had anticipated this person to be here at all.

"Renji? What the hell are you doing here?" Tatsuki asked in complete bewilderment as she watched the red-haired pineapple walking towards them within his Shinigami form, Zabimaru resting upon his shoulder unreleased.

"What does it look like? I'm going to help you of course" Renji answered simply enough as he placed Zabimaru back into its sheath and stood before Urahara and Tatsuki with his arms folded over his chest.

"What about young Kuchiki-san? Wont she be mad that you left her?" Urahara asked seriously, wondering what Rukia would do to the poor man if he were found to be going to Hueco Mundo and with another women of all things.

"Rukia wont care, she's been ignoring me an awful lot ever since Ichigo came back and it really has been dragging me down, I also want to make sure that one of the group does not end up killing herself" Renji ended off with a wink towards Tatsuki who simply growled and hit Renji on the top of his head, to which he yelped and held his head in pain.

"What was that for?" Renji complained as he rubbed the sore bit on his head while Urahara merely chuckled at the antics of the pair. Tatsuki grinned at Renji before explaining herself.

"That was for being idiotic and abandoning your girlfriend like that" Tatsuki began trying to put on an angry face whish she could only hold for a few seconds before a smile broke out on her face and she hugged into the chest of Renji, something he was not used to from the tom-boy.

"And that one?" Renji asked with his right eyebrow raised once Tatsuki stepped back from him and looked up to his face, with a slightl laugh Tatsuki patted him on the chest.

"That's for coming to help me say sorry to Ichigo" Tatsuki said as she turned around so her back was facing Renji who only smiled in return to what she had said. He plced his right hand onto tatsuki's left shoulder, once she looked up to him he smiled at her.

"Don't sweat it, I gotta make my own apologies to Ichigo too, I never said anything to help the guy so he deserves my apologies too" Renji admitted before he looked towards Urahara. "Could you open the Garganta for us please Urahara-san?" Renji asked the shopkeeper who simply nodded his head.

Urahara raised his cane up into the air and smiled at them both. "Good luck I guess" he said as from his cane spiritual pressure began to form and start to tear at the air itself. Tatsuki and Renji looked to each other and nodded their heads before turning back and leaping into the Garganta at full speed and racing onwards into darkness.

"That should get you as close as the outer wall of Hueco Mundo, dropping you off anywhere else would be too far away or too risky" Urahara said to himself after the Garganta closed. He did not want to doubt Ichigo's word that they would not be harmed but he did not know the control he had over the hollows and how devoted to him they were and did not want to take any chances.

* * *

_Well here you guys go another chapter out before any of my other stories got a chapter, I almost feel bad for them =]. Now I find myself in a dilemma, I have come to make myself really hate Orihime in this fic, it is through no fault of her own or her canon character, I have just miraculously through my story got myself to hate her inthis story. Anyway what I wish to ask my lovely readers is this, should I keep this an Ichihime main pairing with Ichixothers as well or forgety about the ichihime altogether and focus on the other pairings. I leave this choice down to you guys because I'm not all too sure so yes if you could either put it in a review or a private message, whatever works for you guys. Anyway thanks for reading and I shall see you in my next instalment of whatever I write =] byebye - Varrukh_


	18. Chapter 18 Apologies And Tragedies

There was complete silence besides the occasional noise of steps that resounded from the two beings making their way through the Garganta. Renji ran at the front of their duo so that he could give Tatsuki a stable area to work with and would keep her much safer than if she were to take point.

"Now tell me, what is the real reason you are doing all of this?" Renji asked without even looking back to Tatsuki but he could just tell that with the silence behind him that either she was blushing or had a sad face. As it so happened it was the former of the two.

"What do you mean, I'm simply doing this so I can say sorry to Ichigo" Tatsuki answered back quickly which Renji instantly took as his shrouded answer.

Renji chuckled lightly before he said anything again. "Sure does seem like it is only an apology if you are going all the way to hostile territory in order to see him" Renji said with a smirk on his face and from the sound of grunting softly behind him he could tell that he had indeed hit the nail on the head with that one.

"I just want to make sure he knows, I don't have any idea when I will see Ichigo again in the human world and I don't want to waste my life away waiting" Tatsuki answered him with a steady voice, at the sound of Tatsuki's voice Renji stopped his movements and caused Tatsuki to stop just short of running into him.

"Now look Tatsuki if by the way you are speaking is any indication this is not just simply about some apology, I want to apologise to him too but not nearly as desperately, what is your true purpose of being here and without the knowledge of your friends no doubt" Renji asked Tatsuki as the girl just looked up to the towering figure of the Shinigami Lieutenant he was staring right down at her, his eyes piercing into her own as if searching her very soul.

Tatsuki had to look away from those piercing eyes because they made her feel completely humble and weak and she hated feeling weak. Looking down to the spiritual particle floor that Renji had created at his feet and had even managed to extend to her feet. She did not want to admit it to anyone much less herself, but to admit anything like that to Renji would destroy her, he would never let her live it down.

"I can't say" Tatsuki finally admitted as she held on to her left arm with her right hand. Renji watched her in mild surprise, Tatsuki did not act like this with anyone, and especially not around him at all. This was vulnerable Tatsuki and right at this moment Renji had to admit that he didn't like it at all, he was more used to the fiery and aggressive young woman that would fight with him and not back down from him. One of the traits that made him love Rukia in the first place. That was specific to Rukia only though, no way would he betray her in such a fashion.

"You don't need to I have a pretty good idea" Renji said as he once again smirked and turned around ready to start running again, but before he did so he turned and looked at Tatsuki side-on. "If you truly are ready to go and see Ichigo this soon then you had probably better be prepared to fight a large force of hollows and whatever else they may have" Renji said to Tatsuki before he focused in front of himself and ran again.

* * *

Tatsuki stood for a moment come to terms with the fact Renji had read her like an open book, that she did not enjoy but it did mean that she did not have to explain it to him. She then quickly caught up with Renji so that she would not fall into the depths of the Garganta. The white light that they had constantly seen in front of them began to increase in size until they were almost touching it in which case Renji leapt forward and forced his fist right through the white material.

Tatsuki followed him through and then landed on the dark sand that signified the eternal night-time landscape of Hueco Mundo's desert. Looking across the landscape both pairs of eyes looked as their eyes traced across the dark dunes of sand. They could not see their intended target however, they could not see the white walls of the palace of Las Noches.

That was the last thing on both of their minds though considering the fact that there were massive numbers of hollows stampeding towards both of them. Renji and Tatsuki looked to each other before a smile graced both of their features. Tatsuki dropped down with her right leg extended out to her side whilst focussing her weight on her left leg which was directly under her in a crouched position. Renji took his position back to back from her as he placed Zabimaru on his shoulder with a grin.

"Ready to cause some problems Tatsuki?" Renji asked as his grin spread further as the hollows got closer. He did not receive a vocal reply from Tatsuki but did hear as electrical energy began to dance about and seeing some dancing around his feet too, what he could not see was the determined smile on her face too.

"But of course, what else would I do?" Tatsuki answered as she heard Zabimaru lifting from Renji's shoulder. "True that" Renji answered as he focussed spiritual pressure to his Zanpaktou. "Howl Zabimaru!" Renji called out while at the same time swinging his Zanpaktou and causing the segmented blade to extend outwards and cut into a large arc of hollows, clearly all low levels due to the ease in which he cut through them.

Tatsuki leapt from her crouched position into the throng of hollows, delivering kick upon kick and punch upon punch towards the encroaching forces of the hollow menace. Tatsuki continued her dance of death as she done everything that Yoruichi had ever taught her about using the spiritual pressure in the air, and just now she had a complete abundance of it. The sheer ferocity of the spiritual pressure was also scaring her too, there was no way that this much spiritual pressure was normal, she knew Hueco Mundo had the greatest concentration due to the abundance of hollows but this was still pushing the limits of her imagination.

Renji continued to battle against the hollows that closed in on him from his side until he felt a slash going down the length of his back, grunting in evident pain he turned around quickly to dispatch of the hollow that had gotten so close to him. To his horror all he could see was a massive throng of hollows and no Tatsuki, not even the tell-tale signs of her arching electricity. Fearing the worst Renji conjured up all of his spiritual pressure before barking out with all his might.

"BANKAI!" followed by the hissing of Hihio Zabimaru as the large snake rose out of the smoke in order to look directly at the assembled hollows in an intimidating manner. Without losing any haste Renji whipped his Zanpaktou around and collected spiritual pressure to the mouth of Hihio Zabimaru and within seconds of doing so released it in a huge beam of spiritual pressure. "Hikotsu Taiho!" the beam tore through a large column of the hollows and cleared a path for him in which he could see the form of Tatsuki fighting for her life far off in the distance.

Renji wasted no time and shot over to where Tatsuki was currently fighting whilst dispatching many hollows on his way over. Having a large snake as your Zanpaktou had advantages, especially when it could easily capture many foes and snap them in half within its maw.

Landing down on the ground where Tatsuki was still fighting desperately Renji swung his Zanpaktou around in a large circle above his head causing the large snake head to devour many of the surrounding hollows. Renji moved back until he was once again back to back with Tatsuki.

"Are you enjoying yourself then?" Renji asked as he looked over his shoulder to the form of Tatsuki breathing heavily and holding an arm around her stomach. Renji noticed this very quickly and turns his attention back towards the hollows before them before he talks again. "How bad is it?" Renji asks quietly as the hollows surround them and slowly move forward. Tatsuki grunts in reply as she tries to stand up straight.

"What are you talking about, I'm fine" Tatsuki groaned out while still trying to stand tall again, however in her haste to stand up again she miscalculates the weight onto her injured side and falls to the ground. Renji's attention is grabbed as the weight behind him falls and for that split second he sees Tatsuki but he hears the hollows around them converge.

Renji upon instinct spins around in a full circle and kneels down so that he is protecting Tatsuki and with his motions he causes his Zanpaktou to wrap around both of them protectively while the head of the snake continues to bite a hollows as they approach. Tatsuki lies at his feet still holding her side in evident pain.

"You chose an excellent time to get injured you know that? Right in the middle of the enemy" Renji says to the fallen warrior who simply looks up at him with nothing less than anger brimming in her onyx coloured eyes. Renji turns his gaze from her before talking again. "Come on get up surely you have enough strength to get yourself out of here while I make a pathway out?" Renji asked as he began moving forwards.

"Of course you idiot" Tatsuki answers back as she again struggles to get to her feet but manages slightly with the aid of the bone like body of Renji's Zanpaktou. Renji nods before he faces where the front of Hihio Zabimaru would be and moved his Zanpaktou in a fashion that would make it open up and allow them out, having previously protected them in a dome of its own coiled body.

"Hikotsu!..." Renji began before he fully registered what he was seeing directly in front of him, there was just no way that this could have been done by either him or Tatsuki, since they were both within the protective dome of Hihio Zabimaru. The evidence was all out before him however as masses upon masses of hollows lay upon each other, their corpses slowly disintegrating towards the sky of the perpetual night of Hueco Mundo.

* * *

"Sorry about them, some of the lower levels of hollow don't quite know the rules of ask questions first then attack" came a voice from behind both of them to which they both turned and found the owner of that voice. There standing before them was an extremely imposing figure. A man standing as tall as Renji with pure white hair and sapphire eyes, there was also a scar running from above his right eye across it and did not end until it reached his chin. He wore a large white overcoat with long entrails that split apart at his waist to two separate entrails and reached down to the ground, his coat left open exposing his chest. The only other thing notable other than the common lower clothing of most Arrancar appearance was the fact that his body was literally littered with battle scars, with one running down the length of his right side that looked more recent.

Both stared at the newcomer with evident fear as they realised just what he was, this was a league beyond what they had just been struggling to fight off, there was hollows and then there was Arrancar with the hollows being like an acorn and the Arrancar more attune to an oak tree. Needless to say the single thought going through both peoples mind was something like 'Shit'.

"I see that you seem to be a little on edge there dear Shinigami and human" The Arrancar said as he took in their shocked appearances and evident fear as he talked to them in such a casual and calm manner. "Although I could guess that, lord Ichigo did inform me that there may be some humans coming here…" at this point he looked at Renji who just narrowed his eyes back at the Arrancar. "…and that they would most likely be male" the Arrancar finished as his gaze then landed upon Tatsuki who also narrowed her eyes towards the Arrancar.

"What the hell do you mean by that statement huh?" Tatsuki asked as she allowed her more aggressive nature to take over despite the rather dangerous situation they were currently in. the Arrancar took his gaze off of the Shinigami to look at the smaller female human and felt a smile coming to his lips as he watched the way in which she acted.

"Why I am merely stating the fact that whomever I looked at while speaking that word was in fact not an owner of said property, like he is not human and you are clearly not male" the Arrancar answered her as he simply stood before them without any hint of ill intent or anything malicious in any way.

"I think the more important fact is that he called Ichigo lord, don't you think Tatsuki?" Renji asked as the sarcasm could be heard almost literally dripping from his words. At this Tatsuki looked at him with an angry face before it turned red and she turned away from him in silent anger that she had missed out on such an important piece of information. Renji shook his head at the antics of the girl and turned to the Arrancar. "So how do we know that you are not hostile towards us?" Renji asked as he kept Hihio Zabimaru ready to strike whenever he had to.

"First of all that oversized snake would stand no chance against me" The Arrancar began as he Sonido'd out of existence and then reappeared at the tip of Zabimaru's snout, with his fist covered in green spiritual pressure he crashed his fist into the snout of the snake and caused the snake to drop to the ground instantly. Renji just stood there in shocked silence as he watched his comrade get beaten so easily. "Second reason would be that I could also have killed both of you when I took the liberty of saving you from these rabid hollows that seemed very interested in eating you" the Arrancar finished as he looked out amongst the large expanse of hollows that had actually decreased since Renji and Tatsuki had last looked.

"Those reasons are all very clear and easy to see but I guess you could say that the best reson that I have not already killed either of you is because of him" the Arrancar said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder indicating behind him where there was absolutely nothing… for a few seconds.

After a few seconds of waiting and staring at the place where the Arrancar indicated they could see that he was getting if just slightly annoyed at the fact he was pointing at nothing at all. "Hey, get your arse out here!" the Arrancar shouted suddenly at the area directly behind him. After a few more seconds in which Tatsuki and Renji began to question the sanity of the Arrancar before them the air before the Arrancar began to shimmer and with that he turned around and looked to both of them again.

"Now as I was saying it was mainly due to him that you are not dead right now" he reiterated as he straightened himself out again as a figure came out of the very air behind him. It stood about the same height as the Arrancar that they had been staring at. What they noticed instantly when the new figure made itself noticed was the monstrous rise in the density of spiritual pressure around both of them, looking around they could see the very sand dunes around them struggle under the strain of power.

Both were forced to the ground under the force of the spiritual pressure and as a result could only see the feet of the person who had recently just arrived, the one thing they could tell about them were that they had the same shoe wear as the Arrancar, probably one of his buddies.

"Of all the people I expected to come here I would have labelled both of you to be the least likely" Came a painfully familiar voice, especially since the last time they had heard it the voice was broken and in pain, but now it seemed almost amused and happy. "Wait a second and I'll get rid of this oppressive atmosphere, follow me and Zakabe, you will be in a much more stable environment" the voice continued as Renji looked up and saw the back of a man walking back the way he had come soon followed by the Arrancar called Zakabe.

* * *

The second both people were gone the oppressive force vanished and Tatsuki and Renji found themselves almost weightless, like after carrying someone on your back and finally getting them off. Tatsuki looked to the still rippling air ahead of them and turned to Renji.

"Well he seemed to be friendly enough, and if I am not mistaken I think that might actually have been Ichigo" Renji said as he seen the look that crossed over Tatsuki's face that said 'how the hell could you know it was him'. Renji did not stick about to be asked such questions as he walked forwards and into the still rippling air, and was suddenly gone from the perpetual night of the desert. Tatsuki upon finding herself all alone in such an offending place decided to go for broke and followed him into the rippling air.

What they were met with when they passed through the rippling air was nothing short of breath-taking. One moment they were standing in an arid desert that had no hopes of housing any life in it at all besides the dead, and now here they were within a massive equatorial jungle almost. The heat was almost overwhelming, to the point where the second they both entered they were both tempted to take off all acceptable clothing in order to alleviate some of the heat.

They however, restrained themselves in light of the fact they were in hostile territory with two clearly powerful enemies not too far away from them. On closer inspection actually they could see their so-called enemies not too far away on a hillside, the Arrancar Zakabe had cast aside his overcoat and laid it on the grassy hillside that overlooked an almost crystalline lake.

Renji looked up at the Arrancar and could see that there was another Arrancar up with it too, it had long golden hair and a long white dress that ended in a needle stack material, the dress was however hung upon a large tree near to where the two were sitting and she was currently in what Renji took to be the Arrancar's version of a bikini?

Their attention was however dragged from both of them when they saw a third being coming towards them with white espda trousers and a t-shirt more or less the exact same as the one Grimmjow used to wear over his top half, not even bothering to cover himself up. Renji had his attention fixed upon the face of the one that got closer to them and smiled as he realised just who it was, with hair that matched him at the fullest extent and returned back to orange eventually it was hard to forget what he looked like.

Tatsuki however, well, let us just say that with the show of well-tuned muscles and a stride that gave off something akin to true self-assurance and confidence, she was definitely impressed. Upon looking up and finally seeing the face of the man whom she had come here to see… well Ichigo had never seen Tatsuki turn such shades of red before.

"Hey, Tatsuki-Chan? What's wrong? You ill?" Ichigo asked suddenly afraid for her health already, Renji just chuckled at the way in which Ichigo was already worried about her after what he had been put through by said girl. Although he put it down to Ichigo's forgiving nature or maybe it was something to do with the past that he and the girl shared. The fact that he was clearly clueless as to what was going on was pretty evident however.

"She's not ill Ichigo, the blood has just ran to her face because she has seen something that she quite clearly likes" Renji joked as he seen Tatsuki round on him with a shocked face and brought her fist back quickly before ploughing it into the face of Renji, who had by this time take it upon himself to laugh whole heartedly. Ichigo however after his momentary concern over Tatsuki became solemn and waited for the two to stop their antics before speaking again.

"So how we going to do this? Both of you against me I guess?" Ichigo asked sadly as the two before him looked at him surprised that he had come to such a conclusion. At seeing their shocked faces Ichigo looked between the two before asking another question. "What? Aren't you here to fight and probably try to kill me?" Ichigo asked the two who quickly shook their heads.

"I'm here because I wanted to say that I was sorry for not standing up for you when Matsumoto was slaughtering you, I don't know what I could really say to help you right enough but I felt that I didn't do enough by just standing there either" Renji explained as he looked to Ichigo, trying to convey his heartfelt words through his eyes as well as his speech, Ichigo just smiled which made Renji exhale a breath he never knew he had been holding.

"Don't sweat it Renji, not much you could have really said, what Matsumoto said was, I'd hate to say true, but I'd also be a liar if I said it was a pack of lies too" Ichigo said as he extended his hand out towards Renji. Renji saw the gesture and mirrored it himself by extending his hand out. Both grasped onto the others hand and shook hands with smiles. Once they released each other's hands Ichigo wiped the back of his hand along his brow. "Whew! I thought I was going to have to fight for a moment there, I really do hate fighting when I'm in here, too damn hot!"

_Well you have the power to turn the fucking heating down so stop complaining!_ The voice that would usually be within Ichigo's head shouted out within the large dome of equatorial jungle. Tatsuki and Renji looked around suddenly to find the owner of the voice but to no avail, meanwhile Ichigo had his own answer to the voice that was ever so helpful.

'What the hell was that all about, I have never heard you speak out like that, what's wrong?' Ichigo asked within his mind.

_It is too hot and what you feel we feel, there are fucking three of us in here! _The Hogyoku complained loudly as it resounded within the dome yet again.

While the Hogyoku was venting all of his anger out Shiro turned to Zangetsu who was beside him and also watching the unisex spirit going apeshit.

I thought I was supposed to be the vulgar one? The hollow spirit whispered to his comrade spirit who leaned down to talk to him so not to rouse suspicion.

**I do believe that we should just leave him and not aggravate him, I think he might blow up** the Zanpaktou spirit said to his comrade spirit.

The next thing all three of them knew they were all no longer within a skyscraper landscape but were standing in the middle of an equatorial jungle. All three spirits looked around themselves to see each other but also to see Ichigo in the flesh and also the Shinigami and human. Touching their hands to their faces and touching the surrounding areas they all looked to Ichigo.

what the hell did you do kingy?" Shiro asked instantly as he looked to his coloured counterpart. Ichigo merely smiled in return as he looked at all of the spirits that made up his power.

"I materialized all of you so that you could get out and enjoy yourselves for a while, so go on and enjoy the time we still have here" Ichigo said to the three spirits who all looked slightly dubious at first but eventually Shiro caught the gist of what Ichigo had done and ran yipping and hollering in the direction of the lake, not even bothering to remove his clothes.

Zangetsu seemed more reserved in that he walked calmly over towards the area where Sera and Zakabe were currently laying under the heat source at the centre of the dome and eventually sat down in what looked like a medative stance. Both Zakabe and Sera watched him as he sat down, but as he did not move nor speak, neither of them bothered themselves too much with him. They just left him to his own devices.

Hogyoku waited beside Ichigo and watched as the other two spirits done their separate things before turning to Ichigo. "I apologise for my earlier words, they were harsh and unreasonable, you have my apologies" Hogyoku said solemnly as he bowed slightly. Ichig stopped him from bowing any further with a calm hand on his shoulder. Hogyoku looked up to the smiling face of Ichigo.

"Don't worry about it, sometimes excessive heat makes tempers flare and makes rational thought go out the window" Ichigo said to the spirit within his soul that he had to admit was probably without a doubt the strongest part of him but also the most vital, if the crystal filling the void of his heart was anything to go by.

"You know sometimes I wonder who the more wise one is, you or I. however, I do believe that myself and Abarai-san shall leave this area because I can tell the from young Arisawa-san's heats desire is the chance to speak with you alone, so if you please Abarai-san?" Hogyoku asked as he indicated in front of him for Renji to proceed in front of him, Renji however gave an unsure look to Ichigo.

"Don't worry about him, he won't hurt you, and everyone over there won't hurt you, if either Sachi or Kyota come u to you, just say you are Uncle Renji a dear friend of mine" Ichigo said to the red-head to quell any fears he may have had about the situation. With that Renji smiled to Ichigo and nodded his head before he turned to Tatsuki and gave her a wink to which the tom-boy blushed and considered punching him again.

* * *

Ichigo watched the exchange in mild surprise as Renji walked away and Tatsuki had turned away due to the blush on her face, Ichigo turned to her and quickly came out with.

"When did that one happen?" to which Tatsuki turned around to him with a quizzical look and he responded in kind by continuing his question. "When did you two get together?" Ichigo asked as he looked between the red-head who was slowly moving away towards the water, at this point he finally realised his Bankai was still active and he sheathed his Zanpaktou so that he would not have to shoulder such a piece of luggage for too long. Hogyoku had said something to Renji who had nodded his head before moving over to the hillside, depositing his things then getting down to his black Shinigami trousers and leaping into the lake. He then looked back to Tatsuki who had nothing else on her face but pure shock, honestly he was getting that look from her far too much today.

"We are not together" Tatsuki affirmed finally after she finally managed to get her voice back after trying to find it for so long, she was still not looking directly at Ichigo yet. Ichigo looked back over to where Renji was swimming through the lake strongly towards Shiro.

"Why not? I mean he's not all that bad, I mean he is a red pineapple but get past that and hey presto, get rid of the midget an he's yours" Ichigo said in a somewhat dark tone, which made Tatsuki gasp slightly.

"Ichigo, that was a little dark for you was it not?" Tatsuki asked as Ichigo turned to her slowly with his head held low. Tatsuki suddenly felt as if maybe she had made this trip for naught if this was the way he was going to act.

"No, she has not yet said one word to me ever since she had realized I was alive again, and as such it is as if she does not recognize that I exist, you on the other hand, you beat the crap out of me and showed me that you knew I existed" Ichigo began as he lifted his head up to reveal a much happier face than Tatsuki had expected. "Through your act of somewhat brutality you made me happy by acknowledging my existence, but anyway back to the subject, I mean he is strong, smart…" at that moment they heard a scream akin to pain and turned to see Renji laying on the ground on his stomach with Shiro holding his right hand behind his back with a grin.

"… okay he can keep strong but he can't have smart, but overall he is a nice guy" Ichigo finished, wondering why he was giving couples advice of all things. Shaking his head he got straight back to what it was they were originally going to talk about. "Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk about anyway, I kind of went off on a tangent there" Ichigo asked as he smiled at her with one of those smiles that she just knew was one hundred percent genuine and she had to physically stop herself from tactlessly saying something like 'me love you'.

"I wanted to apologise to you too for the way that I treated you, I men I beat you to a pulp twice and well the first time I did stop but the second time I just wanted to finish you, and then that night when you tried to talk to me and I blocked you out was the tipping point. It wasn't until the next day that I felt guilty but I sure did feel guilty about the way I acted, it was like I had tunnel vision and you were just a shining target right in front of me" Tatsuki explained as Ichigo simply crossed his arms over his chest, to which Tatsuki mentally complained about, and nodded his head at the appropriate times.

"I guess all I am trying to say is that I am sorry and that I hope you will forgive me" Tatsuki finishes as she looks away, so she would not have to see his face as he flat out rejected her as she felt he had every right to do so. However her heart was spared that certain pain as she felt a strong hand rest upon her left shoulder and she was spun to look directly at Ichigo.

"Tatsuki I cannot hate you, knowing you for as long as I have it is just too hard to hate you, there is a whole wide range of things that you could do to me and I would not hate you" Ichigo said to her with a warm smile at which she can only stare at. How could he have such generosity? After what he had been put through, and by her hand too how could he be so calm about it?

"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki screamed as she stepped forward and pointed her finger directly into the chest of Ichigo. "I treated you like garbage, I treated you on a level I should never have done but you are being so considerate of me. WHY!" Tatsuki screamed as Ichigo simply stared back at her while her hand was now flat against his chest and she leaned against him if more for support than anything else. Ichigo grabbed onto Tatsuki's wrist and gently moved it aside, with her hand gone as was her support she fell forward with her body smashing into the chest of Ichigo.

Once her body touched his it was like a shock went through her system that was accompanied by heat and she had never felt so comfortable in all her life. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and she felt the heat cap off at just the right temperature as he done that. Tatsuki did what she believed to be the correct motion at the time and wrapped her arms around the man who had wrapped his arms around her. Ichigo then leaned down so that his mouth was barely away from Tatsuki's ear and whispered to her.

"Why wouldn't I be considerate of you Tatsuki, you are my oldest friend, I love you far too much to push you away" Ichigo talked honestly as Tatsuki felt his warm breath washing over her ear and down the back of her neck, she swore that if he continued that then she would do something she very much would not wish to do in public. Instead she contented herself at the moment by hugging him and saying the one thing she was glad she could "Thank you" was all Tatsuki said before she rested her head on his chest.

* * *

_**Real World**_

Orihime was in her room, alone and in the dark. She had laid in the foetal position ever since she had come home from school today. She had been silent ever since Ichigo had left them and had not even eaten anything at dinner when it was called. She had simply lay there, in the dark, alone with her thoughts. Now she was in the house herself as the rest of the Kurosaki's had went out, it was mainly so that Isshin could break the news to his daughters that Ichigo was gone again, but at least this time he wasn't dead.

They were not going easy on her either. Flashes of Ichigo and his face in pain, to the very fact that he was gone and she had in some way been a part of it, how could she live with herself after doing that to the one man she ever loved. He had been through she could only guess what and come to see her, he had fought through thick and thin just to be with her. And how had she repaid him? By sitting silently as one of her friends slaughtered him verbally, there were so many things that she could have said but didn't and now she was paying the price for it.

She knew she would never see him in the world of the living again unless it was a matter of utmost emergency that required him to be there personally. Tears long since dried out began to form again as she lay there thinking about all of these things, how could she have been so stupid as to act in such a manner? Ichigo could by all rights hate her right now and she could not blame him, she hated herself enough as it was.

The door to her room creaked open slightly and allowed a sliver of light to penetrate the piercing darkness. Turning her attention to the gap of light created she could see three figures, she guessed them to be Isshin and the girls back from their time out, and she expected to hear a lot from the girls, since it felt as if she herself had chased Ichigo away. Upon closer inspection however Orihime could see that the three shadows were much taller than on single man and two smaller girls.

"Is this the one that you mentioned? The one that he cared about the most?" came a voice from the doorway as one figure turned to the other.

"Indeed if the way he reacted to her voice and her presence was anything to go by, she is definitely the most prized possession of Kurosaki" A monotonous voice answered a voice that Orihime knew too well and was horrified to hear again.

"Very well, Orihime Inoue, you shall come with us, there shall be no negotiating, either come quietly or you shall be dragged" came a much more rugged and harsh voice as a figure stepped into the room. Orihime caught the faintest glimpse of his face as he moved into the room and gasped.

"Ni-san?" Orihime asked as she brought a hand to her mouth, the figure growled before he pointed his finger at the head of Orihime, with some strange electrical bolt going between his finger and Orihime's head she fell to the bed completely unconscious.

"Now let us get out of here, I would prefer not to be found by that damn tenth division captain" the first of the voices says as he turns around towards the light revealing Volak, beside him the monotonous man turns around and reveals Ulquiorra. Both are wearing the same garb that they had been before the time of their deaths with the only difference being that there was now a flaming symbol for hell on the back of their clothes.

"Very well" the voice of the third person says before disappearing in flames within the dark room leaving Volak and Ulquiorra standing at the doorway of the room.

"I really do wish he would teach us how to do that, gets annoying when he does it and leaves us like that" Volak complains as Ulquiorra simply walks off to the outside of the house, soon followed by Volak. Once they finally clear the house Ulquiorra clicks his finger and before him a gateway made of pure flames appears, both he and Volak step through before it closes behind them.

* * *

_Right there we go, now I should hopefully get into the big main story of this fic I hope. I had always intended it to be playing a large part in hell, a place barely even scraped by the actual bleach media. Anyway I do hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and I have to say that for you Ichihime lovers who have not yet voted to keep them together, you better start soon, because Ichiothers seems to be pulling ahead, but worry not, still plenty of time for it to be decided, as usual I hope you enjoy and I hope to see you all next chapter, R&R please your author – Varrukh _


	19. Chapter 19 Despair

Ichigo had situated himself upon the crest of the hillside again, to his left lay both Sera and Zakabe who seemed to be deeply involved within a conversation of their own and if the smile on Sera's face were anything to go by, she liked what she was hearing. Ichigo smiled at that, it was nice to see that even if he were an absolute fail at relationships at least those close to him could accomplish something like that. He looked over to where the lake was to find Shiro, Sachi, Kyota and Renji were all playing around in the water, he was surprised at Renji's relaxed appearance. He did however know that time in this dome was much slower compared to outside time, so a day in here would be comparable to about an hour in actual time, it was simply down to the huge forces of spiritual pressure and Hogyoku whose ability allowed him to bring to fruition peoples heart's desire.

The overwhelming desire from everyone in the dome at the moment was that they would have enough time to relax and not have to worry about anything else other than them for once.

Renji knew that he was being selfish when he just wanted to think about himself for once but was it so wrong of him? He had been tirelessly making sure Rukia was alright and it had gotten to the level where she no longer even appreciated the help he gave her, the support he offered her, it was just plain unfair and he wanted time to himself for once. This place afforded him that one luxury and at being on good terms with Ichigo allowed him to relax even more around the Arrancar even if he was still slightly skittish. The two Arrancar girls had almost nothing aggressive about them though.

The same went for the albino Ichigo. Renji had expected the thing to be an insane bloodthirsty battle-seeker but upon spending time with the alabaster man he had found him to be rather sociable and was not bad at all. Maybe soul society was wrong about Arrancar? None of these seemed to be malicious or evil in any way.

Ichigo continued his survey over the domed area of tranquillity, his eyes caught onto the figures of Hogyoku and Zangetsu who were lazing against trees in the shade said trees provided. Both looked as if they were napping but Ichigo could see their mouths moving and as such knew that they were still awake and talking, that or they both talked in their sleep which was amusing as well. Something for him and Shiro to tease them about later.

* * *

Then his eyes landed on the form next to him. Tatsuki was the strangest of those here, he had expected her second lest to come here at all other than to kill him, so he was surprised when she apologised to him and almost begged forgiveness which he would have given her anyway. Now she lay next to him on her back with her hands resting on the ground under her head. She was dozing in the heat that was given off by the orb of god only knows what in the centre of the dome.

He smiled at how at peace both she and Renji were within the dome; it was nice to see them so calm, without the worries of the outside world. That was why he came in here much of the time, so that the crushing weight of things spiralling out of control could be forgotten about in the real world for an hour, whereas he spent almost a day in here. He was also happy that they had both come to apologise to him, he felt that at least they were good enough to him to make the effort even if they had almost perished in trying to reach him.

His smile did not go unnoticed however as Tatsuki's eyes opened slightly and she smiled back up at him. Ichigo was at first worried that he had been caught and that in traditional Tatsuki fashion she would very well hit him everywhere and anywhere she could. But when he saw her smile widen he found his levels of curiosity rise, what was making her so happy all of a sudden? So happy that she would not hit him to make matters more interesting.

"Like what you see?" Tatsuki asked in a velvety soft voice that oozed something Ichigo was familiar with and at that very instant Ichigo's face connected with the ground as he face-faulted and fell backwards, trying his best to hide the stream of blood gushing from his nose. Inwardly Tatsuki snickered at her accomplishment. Inwardly Ichigo could not believe that Tatsuki had talked so seductively to him, she had never said anything like that in that manner before and that was definitely a first.

"Should I take that as a yes?" Tatsuki asked as Ichigo managed to finally lift himself up from the ground and could see the smile on her face, at that he was not even sure if she had been serious or if it had been a joke. He would not however deny to himself the attractiveness that she exuded. Currently she was sporting only a black bra and matching panties that she had reduced to in the exposure of the heat; of course it was the only reason. Her attractiveness lay in her well-tuned muscles that made her seem graceful and beautiful even when she was doing nothing and the perfect curves of her body made him truly appreciate tha, yes, Tatsuki was indeed beautiful in her own way.

After having such thoughts he wondered to himself if he should actually think that way since, essentially he still loved Orihime, her actions may have hurt him but he was not going to give up that easily on her, maybe if he left her a little longer to get used to the idea that he was back and maybe it would also give Matsumoto a chance to cool down too. That'd make things leagues better for him. With these thoughts he believed it only logical that he find other women attractive, after all he is a red blooded male, that and he wouldn't have grudged Orihime checking out other guys. He didn't care if they had better looks than him, were better than him at something, if he had her love he would have been fine.

"I guess you could say so, yes" Ichigo answered her finally after she noticed him checking over her entire body, but despite the looks she sometimes received from guys at school who were able to see her body due to a lighter clothing style, Ichigo's gaze held no malicious intent. If anything Ichigo's gaze held interest but no lust, whereas the other guys were all lust and not much else, they allowed their little soldier to do the thinking for them. She liked Ichigo looking at her and she liked his response. If the blush was anything to go by it was clear that indeed she was happy just now. As much as she wanted to pounce on him she decided she would keep prodding at him to see his reactions.

"Hey get your head out the gutter" Tatsuki said with a laugh as her body seemed to literally low in the light of the dome and the stare of his golden eyes. He did not blush as she had expected however and wondered if he was actually so deep that he was thinking way beyond the boundaries.

"No worries Tatsuki-Chan, it was never in the gutter" Ichigo answered back happily as he looked back up to her face with a smile and with those eyes Tatsuki was compelled to believe what he said, this was Ichigo after all, apart from the Quincy he was well renowned for his chivalry and respect for women. She did feel the sting at the fact he had not found her body as alluring as she hoped.

"Worry not thought Tatsuki-chan, had circumstances been different then I could not be happier than to be doing many different things with you if you are as interested as you seem" Ichigo whispered to her huskily as he leaned down next to her. She felt a shiver run up her spine and groaned when it was clearly visible to him, he gained a smirk too. "Seems I'm not the only one who has to keep their head out of the gutter" Ichigo laughed as Tatsuki shot up whilst aiming a punch to his face.

He shot backwards and managed to dodge the fist that came screaming towards him, with Tatsuki momentarily off-balance Ichigo took this opportunity to run to what seemed like the safest place. Ichigo ran across the hillside to a sort of ledge over the lake and before he jumped in looked back towards the fuming Tatsuki before waving to her and winking before he back flipped into the water below. Leaving a rather annoyed and hot under the collar Tatsuki. She was not amused any longer.

* * *

"I have not seen him this happy since he came back from the human world, who are you exactly?" Zakabe asked across from her as he can see her staring at Ichigo's empty space with an angry face. He chuckles slightly, he was glad that his superior was beginning to feel better. That and he could see the tell-tale signs of the girl having a certain interest for his master, and his master seemed to be aware too.

"I'm Tatsuki" Tatsuki answered him quickly and held her hand out, at which Zakabe simply stared at. He had to supress the urge to slap that hand away. He quickly got up from his position and walked to the edge of the ledge before jumping in too, making his way over to where Ichigo had joined the other four in the water.

Tatsuki watched after him worriedly before she heard a sigh where there was another female laying opposite her. She was wearing the same as her only in the contrasting shade of white. The woman Arrancar looked to the young girl and could see the worry on her face.

"Don't worry about him, he heard the story about the way Ichigo was treated by yourself and Matsumoto and he apparently has yet to accept the fact that Ichigo has forgiven you" Sera explained to the clearly curious girl. She however turned downcast as she heard that, being forced to remember things she'd prefer not to.

"I can't explain myself better than my personality, I cared about Orihime as if she were my own sister and when Ichigo talked to her as he had I just exploded on him, Orihime just meant that much to me" Tatsuki tried to explain to the other woman, who was by now curious herself.

"If you care so much about her then I find it curious that you seem to be trying to entice the attention of the one that she loves and one he loves" Sera said to the younger girl who only shook her head in either disappointment or acceptance she did not know.

"I knew him for a long time and then when I saw the way she acted towards him and reflected on my own feelings ofr him I could not deny what I wanted any longer, she had clearly made up her mind and I decided her actions were completely unfair on Ichigo and that I wanted him to know I was sorry for my own actions" Tatsuki explained to which the older woman raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"I see, well my lord is too kind hearted for his own good but I see he may be right about you, just give Zakabe some time he sees Ichigo as the brother that he lost a while ago" Sera explained as she could see the curious look that took over Tatsuki's face and knew she was going to have to explain.

"All I can really tell you is that Zakabe and one other were as close as brothers once and Zakabe would do anything for him, but he unfortunately died and it changed Zakabe" Sera said as her face became solemn. "After a while though Ichigo showed up and fixed the break in Zakabe's heart, in essence he healed him and now Zakabe sees Ichigo as one of the most important people in his life, almost like the brother he lost" Sera finished as Tatsuki nodded her head in evident understanding.

"I would probably say you wouldn't have to say anything to Zakabe because he will confer with Ichigo and then he will be told that you can be trusted, never doubt the power of Kurosaki Ichigo in the realm of hollows" Sera finished with an almost confident smile adorning her beautiful features.

"What do you mean by that …ehm" Tatsuki trailed off trying to indicate to the woman that she wanted to know her name if it was alright.

"Sera, Sera Nydia, just call me Sera though, everyone else does" Sera finished with a smile again adorning her features, Tatsuki smiled back.

"Anyway what do you mean by that Sera?" Tatsuki asked as she could see more of a smirk coming onto the delicate features of the woman.

"Quite basically what I said Tatsuki-san, the power of Ichigo Kurosaki in this land is terrifying, if you wish to stay safe in this land, stay on his good side" Sera said to her as she winked as if sending a cryptic message to Tatsuki. "Also fair warning, but you are no longer the only one I think who has feelings for our lord, there are others vying to win his heart" Sera said as she winked again leading Tatsuki to think about Orihime and dismiss the thought for the moment, not realizing that Sera actually meant the two girls who were giggling and laughing as the played around in the water with Ichigo and the others.

* * *

A while later saw all of everyone within the dome back upon the hillside as the light given off by the orb in the centre of the dome began to dull down and give way to darkness. It appeared as if the energy force within the dome worked like the sun in the Soul Society and the Real World, as such the brighter force was the 'sun' with the duller but still rather bright light being the 'moon'. As the darkness descended over the group of accomplices there were a few different groupings watching. The spirits that resided within Ichigo had all gathered together at the crest of the hill and were watching the change together, all with slight smiles on their faces.

Sera and Zakabe were sitting halfway up the hill sitting next to each other, Sera currently had her head resting on Zakabe's shoulder and he was even wrapping his right arm around her shoulders. Renji was standing up to the side of the Arrancar pair looking up to the sky while his arms were crossed over his chest, a contented look coming over his features. Sitting next to him was Tatsuki who was again fully clothed and was holding onto her legs whilst staring down at the bottom of the hill. There was a slight frown on her features and the faintest hints of jealousy or anger present in her eyes.

At the bottom of the hillside however Ichigo was sitting with Sachi and Kyota on either side of his as they looked up to the duller light of the large orb. Both girls looked to be comfortable and content as they sat on either side of him. Both girls were sitting on their legs with their hands resting upon their legs. Although both wished to completely cover Ichigo over with their arms they resisted the temptation. Ichigo himself was fully clothed again with his jacket zipped up to heat him up in the darker and colder area of the dome since the orb had rotated. Although three of the women within the dome were not happy with it, for their own reasons none of them spoke out about it.

Ichigo stared at the orb that reminded him of the moon in the real world and smiled, it had a beauty to it that he could not really compare to much else, what can you in contrast to stellar beauty? Bringing his eyes back down to the foliage and ground of the dome he could see that the lake had sheen of white over it and looked almost like cured metal, there was not a blemish on the surface of the water. He smiled to himself; he was relaxed, if just for a moment, he was completely at ease. He knew that his time limit was coming up however as it had almost already been twenty four hours and any longer was dangerous.

Ichigo sighed as he lifted himself up off of the ground and turned to look at Zakabe, the king lifted his head at the motion of Ichigo and followed his actions, standing up also.

"Time up already?" Zakabe asked Ichigo in an almost childlike manner that had Sera holding her hand over her mouth at the cuteness of the way he had complained. Renji looked slightly surprised whereas Tatsuki was staring at the two girls who were rising to their feet next to Ichigo.

"Yeah it is, sorry bud, but any longer and the place would go to hell, you know the drill" Ichigo answered as he began ascending the hill towards the king of Hueco Mundo, the king nodded his head in recognition as he turned and walked alongside Ichigo when they were side by side. Ichigo turned back to all those who were behind him and smiled lightly.

"You guys can stay here if you want, Sera-chan and you guys do not need to leave this oasis yet, Zakabe and I do because we are the rulers and have to watch the place, spend as long as you like everyone" Ichigo finished with a large smile that spoke volumes of his current happiness. He then turned to the three spirits who were currently playing a game of cards.

_Ha! Take that! I win, I win!_ Hogyoku shouted as he showed his opponents his cards and then began to dance about in his happiness, this was before Shiro showed him his cards with a manic grin. Instantly Hogyoku's mood fouled. _No way, how could you have four aces?_ Hogyoku screamed to the hollow who merely just smiled back at him.

**Sorry to disappoint both of you but I win overall** Zangetsu proclaimed as he turned his cards to show that he had five aces overall. Hogyoku and Shiro were instantly over at him. How the hell can you have five aces when there are only four aces?! Shiro screamed as Zangetsu laughed lightly at the furious hollow spirit, who was closely followed up by the Hogyoku spirit. Both were about to punch into the Zanpaktou spirit before their attention was caught.

"Hey! Come on guys it's time for us to go now!" Ichigo called out to the three, they all looked to each-other as electricity bolts jumped between their visions of each other.

_This. Isn't. Over _Hogyoku said as he looked from Shiro to Zangetsu, both of whom just grinned at him before they turned into separate streams of spiritual pressure and shot into the body of Ichigo. Giving him a glowing radiance for a few seconds before it dimmed down again. The second they were within his mind however Ichigo could hear the three spirits fighting amongst themselves and decided not to even bother asking what the problem was as it would be something stupid, it usually was with those three.

Ichigo sighed before turning to Zakabe who was looking at him warmly with a small smile on his face.

"Getting noisy in there is it?" Zakabe asked as a grin found its way onto his face, Ichigo groaned while wiping his hand across his face.

"You have no idea, let's go before they try to get out of my mind again" Ichigo commanded as Zakabe nodded in understanding and walked out of the dome first. Ichigo stood for a second before following.

Yet before Ichigo could leave the dome Sera had already stood up and was preparing to leave, as were the two Arrancar at the bottom of the hill. Both Renji and Tatsuki turned to Sera confused as to why they were all leaving if they could spend however long they could like in the tropical oasis. Sera noticed the looks of incredulity and answered their silent questions.

"Watch as Ichigo leaves the dome and you will see why we do not often stay here after he leaves" Sera said as all of their attention was diverted to the being just about ready to exit the dome. With a second of deliberation he stepped through and everyone could feel the change instantly. The comforting feeling that had been around them all of that time had vanished, the light within the dome dimmed away exponentially and the foliage within the dome became duller. Even the lake lost its crystalline aesthetic quality as it turned back to looking like normal water. The place looked like a dull forest as compared to its tropical quality not only a few seconds ago, once again Renji and Tatsuki stared at Sera with silent questions.

"I did say never doubt the power of Ichigo Kurosaki in the realm of hollows" Sera said cryptically as she walked away towards the walls of the dome followed by the two Arrancar girls who turned and gave Tatsuki a look filled with distaste and anger.

* * *

_**Unknown location**_

Orihime felt her heavy body almost floating on nothing but air; she could feel nothing all around her as her eyes refused to open. Behind closed lids she could only see the darkness that she was subject to. In all honesty she felt that the darkness was something of a release, what better way to forget about all of the problems in your life than to black out and give in to the forgiving blackness.

As she focused on this feeling she could not help but think that there was something different about her current predicament, such as the fact that her body did not simply float but at times rose and lowered as if in motion and that her body actually had feeling in it to boot. She was definitely not within her own mind of darkness if she could feel her body. Finally opening her eyes she was met with the harshest sight she had yet to see with her own eyes.

Chaos was the sight that met her eyes as she was not even afforded the grace of a hazed sight, she was able to see from the second she opened her eyes. Columns of great burning fires rose out of charred and superheated ground and made its way towards the roof of the area, creating almost solid columns that sometimes flickered slightly. Adorning the walls of a small corridor they were currently within, alongside the flaming pillars there were skulls of all shapes and sizes, some of the biggest or impressive ones were on display on pikes.

Along the pathway that was currently under Orihime's body there was a stream that ran parallel to the pathway and at the merest glimpse of the liquid and guess of its viscosity Orihime instinctively knew that it was a stream of blood. She had to physically stop herself from vomiting at the sight of the blood; she had never really been that good with the sight of it, but to see streams of it would demoralise more people.

It was only then that Orihime noticed that she was in fact not floating in mid-air but was being carried gently through the hellish hallway. Looking to her left she could see a male walking alongside the one that carried her, he was a large man with shoulder length silver hair, he had on the clothes she had only ever really seen worn by the Espada and instantly felt her body freeze in fear. Had Ichigo really gone as far as to bring her to him for his own revenge? She told herself that it could not be the case but Ichigo had acted out of character in the distant past. The man walked with a proud step and seemed unfazed by all that was around him, his eyes or what little Orihime could see seem to glint with pride and arrogance.

Orihime spun around slightly to see who else might be here and to her utmost shock seen a face from her horrible past. The pale skinned man walked casually at the side of the one who carried Orihime with his usual emotionless face present on his features, he was wearing the exact same clothes that he had during her time in Hueco Mundo. For her to say she was not in the slightest bit afraid was a lie unto itself, she had watched him die, and now here he strolled beside her without the slightest hint of ever dying. The only thing different about him was something that he shared with the man walking on the opposite side. That being the flame pattern etched onto the back of their Espada clothing.

Ulquiorra noticed for a moment that Orihime was awake and was aware of her gaze upon him. He showed no sign of realizing such a thing however as he had his job to do, it was almost like deja vu to him now; he had also been one to bring Orihime back to someone in the past. How the past does play a coincidental part in the future. If he were to speak to the woman then the means of his mission would be futile as he would undoubtedly do something against orders. He had definitely not forgotten the way in which she had accepted him as he was.

After looking to the two that walked at her either side Orihime finally looked up to the one who was currently carrying her. What she wished she would never see she did in fact see. It was him. Her brother, her loving and caring brother was carrying her through the evil halls of wherever they were and the look on his face confirmed to her more than anything that the one that held onto her so gently was not her brother. He would never have done anything like this. He had fought back before and there was no reason he could not do it any longer. He was wearing a red long sleeved shirt that was buttoned up to the last one which was left open slightly; he had on black dress pants that extended slightly over his black boots which were steel capped just to dust things off nicely. Over the top of his shirt Orihime's brother wore a Haori, much like a Shinigami captains, except the full coat was green with the little diamond designs at the bottom being red again. Orihime could also see the handle of a weapon above the shoulder of her brother.

He looked down at her suddenly as he could feel her eyes staring at him and felt heat raging through his body, he hated it when humans could see him, and it almost made him feel as if they were weighing him up for a challenge. The mere ability for a human to see him was insult enough but the very fact the boss wanted him to go and get one and bring them back infuriated him. Orihime saw the silent rage within his eyes and quickly diverted her attention elsewhere which made her eyes land on the first man she had looked at. She almost instantly wished that she had not. She could just see that his attention was solely on her and with the lecherous grin that he directed at her she could just tell he was undressing her with his eyes.

Orihime shifted uncomfortably in the grip of the man who had taken her brothers face as its mask. This gained a grunt of irritation from said man and caused Ulquiorra to look up, the sight of Orihime like that had an effect on Ulquiorra and he knew better than to openly show it but he would do so in his own way, he would look after her as best he could if only as gratitude for her actions towards him. Orihime stopped moving the instant she heard the annoyed grunt directed at her, she would prefer not to annoy these people who right now had absolute power over her. Not even if she wanted to use her powers could she do so.

The walk was still as silent as when Orihime had woken up and it showed no sign of becoming any louder anytime soon. Ulquiorra appeared to be like his former self in that he barely spoke much, the man carrying her was clearly not happy about doing so and the third man was quite clearly preoccupied with his lecherous thoughts than to even bother trying to strike up any worthwhile conversation.

After even more excruciating moments of being examined like a piece of meat Orihime was saved the look for the slightest of seconds when she was thrown from her position within the man's arms to the ground at his feet.

* * *

Orihime supported herself on her hands and looked up to where there was a structure of skulls in front of her. On closer inspection Orihime could see that the skull structure extended until it reached its peak and climaxed with a throne of skulls, two large bones or horns extended out from behind the throne and at their tips a blazing flame was lit.

The light cast off from the throne illuminated him slightly as did the flaming columns that reached high into the roof of the room they were in. Orihime looked around and found herself within a square room of substantial size, there was very little within the room besides a large table of gnarled trees. The one atop the throne looked on at the scene before him before tutting loudly.

"Now, now, is that how we welcome guests to our humble abode Aros?" the man at the top of the throne asked softly and Orihime could see from the expression Aros wore that he had stiffened slightly at the manner in which the man had spoken.

"Only when it comes down to humans, anyone else I will treat otherwise" Aros answered back as it appeared he recovered from his momentary lapse of confidence in front of the man. However a grin appeared on the shrouded face of the man as he descended the stairs with his arms opened out wide.

"Oh come now Aros, surely you realise that without humans the other realms that we know could not possibly survive, without humans we have no more resources, and just what would that do to us?" the man asked Aros with a smile on his face, which could clearly be seen through, this man was poor at acting, but on his authority there was no acting. He was the boss without a doubt.

"That's exactly all that they are, disposable souls for our gains" Aros said to the apparent leader of the group. The leader looked at Aros humorously as he could see the man's words were affecting the human that was currently lying at his feet. Had he a compassionate heart he may have tried to help alleviate the girls pain, as he didn't he did not care. "Now if you would please sir, I would like to take my leave" Aros said quietly as he made to walk out of the chamber.

"Oh, not willing to be her caretaker for the duration of her stay Aros?" the man asked slowly with a hidden threat within his words, the man simply looked back at him without any fear evident. One Aros' face was a malicious grin the likes that twisted Sora's usually calm and caring face into a sickly and evil looking version of himself.

"You already know the answer to that one sir, you just wish to try and aggravate me, sorry to inform you but it shall not work" Aros answered back calmly as the malicious grin that had come over his face did not falter once, not even when the leaders eyes glinted in clear distaste.

Orihime in the meantime was staring at the malformed visage of her late brother. It was bad enough that the creature was looking just like him but to twist his features into such a grotesque face only made Orihime all the more disgusted. It was nothing compared to the mental instability it caused to her though. To see her brother's visage as this almost literally tore her soul in half, she half wanted to die, only to realise she may just end up in the same place anyway. It really was a harsh life when one knew that death could not spare them the hardships they were facing.

Aros left the room with the leader, Ulquiorra and Volak. The leader turned to both of them with evident rage brimming to the edge of his very body.

"One of you will watch her during her stay here, she has to be unharmed before the time of the ritual" the leader more threatened than commanded the two before him, where Volak flinched slightly, Ulquiorra showed no signs of the leaders raised voice affecting him. This was something that had never gone unnoticed by the leader and he began to feel the Ulquiorra may eventually become as brazen as Aros since the leader seemed to have no effect on him.

"I will watch her closely sir, she won't be able to do anything without me knowing about it" Volak said quickly as he licked his lips down at the sight of Orihime. She was lying down on the ground and the way she turned to him in sheer terror almost made him squirm in delight, oh how much he had missed these pleasantries!

"Might I request that I do so instead? I watched over her during my time in Hueco Mundo and she was in no way capable of escaping me, nor defying me without consequence" Ulquiorra interjected monotonously, both other men turned to him surprised, well one was surprised and the other felt almost betrayed. The leader looked at Ulquiorra with interest, it was not often that the pale skinned head of his guard made a request of any kind. And to be quite honest he could not trust Volak with very much compared to Ulquiorra.

"What the fu-" Volak began but was stopped when he felt the full force of a blow meeting with his left cheek, he was sent careening into one of the large flaming pillars. Orihime snapped her head back to where Volak had been initially standing to find the leader standing in that same position. Orihime got a full image of him in that instant. The man had hair of blazing white fire that reached down to his shoulders. He had red eyes that seemed to be bathed in flames too, although his face was perfect in almost every way, it looked almost angelic if it were not for the cruel smile and red eyes full of hatred. He wore a full black suit that seemed to make him appear almost business like, he had a white shirt that was buttoned all the way to the top and he had a black tie too, his blazer was buttoned over too.

The leaders arm finally dropped to his side as the steam wisped from his hand at the sheer force of the attack he had used on Volak, over near the flaming pillar Volak groaned as he lifted himself up from the ground, badly burned. Orihime gasped in shock as the burns on his skin seemed to heal instantly, as could be seen through the burned and scorched areas on his clothes.

"Ulquiorra shall watch over Orihime, if I put her under your care there is more of a chance that she shall be raped, I cannot run the risk of her being impregnated by an imbecile like yourself! If I so much as hear you attempt to claim her in such a manner, I will erase you from your very existence!" the leader boomed across the room at Volak who was still trying to get back on to his feet. As Volak finally managed to do so he looked up to find his leader right in front of his again with his hand primed to attack again. Without the time nor strength to fight back Volak was again subject to the hard smack across his face. He was then sent to the opposite end of the room where he collided with the wall and after a sickening crunch fell to the ground whereupon he groaned again in pain.

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" the leader roared across the room towards the prone form of Volak whose only movement was the slightest jerking of his head, indicating to the leader that he indeed understood. "Good, now Ulquiorra if you please, take her to her chambers, I wish her to settle in before I speak to her on the matter for which she is here" th leader said as he turned on Ulquiorra to find said man staring back at him emotionlessly.

"As you wish Kovasuke-Sama" Ulquiorra answered quietly before bowing to Kovasuke slightly and turning to the prone form of Orihime.

Orihime had just underwent a new form of complete despair, rape? The mere mention of the word was the most frightening thing to many girls and she was no exception. To think of herself being raped was something that scared her silent. She could not take her vision off of the man who would be her saviour if it was not for the fact that she just knew there was a reason he had acted as such for her. This did not seem like a place where chivalry ran very high on the recommendation list.

She was brought out of her musings as a pale-skinned man knelt down next to her and looked directly into her eyes. Emerald orbs pierced into her own grey eyes and for a moment Orihime felt freezing fear spiking throughout her body. Ulquiorra was the only one left and he was the one who was to look after her again by the sounds of it, just how could she allow herself to be caught like this? Her gaze fell from his and she simply closed her eyes, she no longer cared about anything, it was clear that karma had come back to bite her with a venomous revenge in mind.

Allowing the darkness to consume her Orihime simply gave up on everything around her. Ulquiorra noticed the weight on Orihime's arms giving out and her body begin to plummet forwards, without realising his actions Ulquiorra had appeared before her and stopped her descent by grabbing onto her shoulders and stopping her from hitting the ground hard. Kovasuke watched with much interest before he simply watched. Ulquiorra was definitely careful in his work but Kovasuke had yet to see Ulquiorra _this _careful, perhaps this warranted some investigation.

"Ulquiorra take her to her bed and prepare her something to eat, I want you to remain with her unless I command you otherwise, you are dismissed" Kovasuke said with his authorative voice, and also noticing that Ulquiorra had been the only one 'dismissed' Aros had simply walked out and Volak was still in a heap against a wall. Ulquiorra looked up from his position in front of Orihime to his master before bowing his head.

"Hai, Kovasuke-Sama" Ulquiorra answered back diligently before he stepped up and lifted Orihime at the same time. Ulquiorra placed Orihime so that she was cradled within his arms and began to walk away towards her designated chambers.

"You appear to be treating her very carefully, this shall not cause any complications in the near future I presume?" Kovasuke asked sceptically from where he still stood. Ulquiorra stopped walking but did not turn around as he answered.

"I treat her as carefully since you require her body to be in perfect condition, if I was to treat her as anything less than a precious piece of cargo then she would not meet your standards, sir" Ulquiorra replied before he began to walk away again towards the chambers that Orihime would be using as she stayed in this realm. Kovasuke watched Ulquiorra disappear with mild satisfaction, he may suspect Ulquiorra of being slightly rebellious at times, but when it came down to his duties he was damn well good at them, for the time being he would take Ulquiorra's excuse as the solid truth.

* * *

Orihime opened her eyes to find herself in the centre of a large field of grass, it was yellow and even some bits of the grass were dying as she touched it gently. She looked around to see that all of the grass was in the same condition as that which she had just touched and within seconds all of the grass was dead and gone.

"Orihime-sama, it has been too long" came a voice Orihime had not heard in a while but was also surprised in the way in which they had spoken to her.

"Tsubaki-kun?" Orihime asked quietly as she spun around to indeed find the black clothed male Shun Shun Rikka. He was the same way he had been the last time she had seen him, his eyes looked at her with more of a concerned look rather than his usual glare that he sent her way. The most notable difference to him however was that he was the same size as Orihime if not just a little taller.

"The one and only sadly enough" Tsubaki answered her back as he sighed heavily. Orihime noticed this immediately and sent many questions of what's wrong and why are you sad?

"What do you mean Tsubaki-kun?" Orihime asked the spirit quietly as she half expected him to shout at her and act as he had always done before but instead he looked at her through almost hurt and pained eyes.

"I mean that I am the only one left from your original Shun Shun Rikka, the others have vanished Orihime-Sama" Tsubaki answered solemnly as he found the dead grassy ground much more appealing than to look her in the eye. Orihime gasped once she realised what he meant.

"What? But how?" Orihime asked desperately as Tsubaki was forced to look up at her once again and Orihime saw something she thought she would never see in the fiery sprite's face. A tear began to make a trek down his face towards the bottom of his covered chin, soaking into the covering over his face. Tsubaki was crying.

"Because you despaired and used their powers less and less they slowly vanished from here, then as your despair grew their power faded. Their power faded while my own grew at rates I wish it had not" Tsubaki began before he wiped his arm across his eyes to rid them of some tears. "Ever since Ichigo left your emotions have been in chaos and as an effect everyone else was not able to comprehend the negative feelings that suddenly washed through your system, it was not self-doubt, what you felt was true despair, because of that the others could not take it" Tsubaki continued as the tears continued, Orihime had to watch on in horrified silence as she realised she was at fault for yet another thing.

""I thrive off of the will to fight and because you felt true despair you realised a thing you never knew before, nothingness. Without anything to live for you realised reckless abandon and as such my power is at its greatest it's ever been, that is why I am as tall as you are currently" Tsubaki finished as he wiped away the last of his tears and then stood to attention.

"So what will it be Orihime-sama? Shall you simply wallow in self-pity until your fate is decided for you? Or will you use my power to finally fight your way out of your current predicament and come to terms with everything?" Tsubaki asked as he smiled at her a teary eyed smile.

Orihime thought about Tsubaki's words as she realised that now all of the other spirits were gone and it was her fault, Tsubaki was all alone and it was her fault. Orihime fell to the ground in front of Tsubaki and began to cry herself, the action however had different implications too. Tsubaki looked to his hand as it slowly began to fade away and he became one with the wind, with a sigh he looked down on Orihime who was still crying to herself, she was lost in her own grief now and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Farewell Orihime-sama, it was fun while it lasted" Tsubaki admitted before the entirety of his body faded to nothingness and the last of the Shun Shun Rikka within Orihime's pins met their end due to Orihime's grief. Orihime lay on the ground in the foetal position as she slowly rocked herself gently. She was not doing well at all, her life had went from happy and carefree three years ago to her literally being in hell. She had lost Ichigo, she had lost her powers and now she feared she might just lose her sanity through the unbelievable amount of loss she had endured.

* * *

Ulquiorra watched as a solitary tear fell down Orihime's face from her closed eyes and felt his body constrict in surprising pain. "Worry not woman, your friends have over two months to find you, if they cannot do so in that time, then there is little I can do to help you" Ulquiorra admitted to the girl within his arms as he carried her into her chambers.

Without looking anywhere else but the bed Ulquiorra set her down and settled her into a comfortable position on the bed. Once satisfied he took a chair and began what was going to be one very long guard duty over the young woman.

* * *

_**Hueco Mundo**_

"Where is that bastard! I'll kill him myself for kidnapping Orihime like that!" yelled the voice of Matsumoto as she landed on the desert wasteland of Hueco Mundo. Soon after the soft thuds of others joining her could be heard, she turned around momentarily to look at those who had accompanied her. Rukia Sado and Uryu, they could find neither Tatsuki nor Renji and as such had to leave them behind so that Orihime would not be held captive for too long.

"Calm down Matsumoto-san, if we go rushing in as angry as you currently are you shall be nothing more than a liability, and one that shall almost definitely get us all killed" came the calculative voice of Uryu as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. Matsumoto focused her enraged gaze upon the Quincy archer as she readied herself to throw a punch right into his face. The motion was seen through however as a larger hand grabbed onto her wrist with the slightest amount of pressure applied.

Instantly Matsumoto was aware of the presence that was Sado, the presence that she had allowed into her heart, the first soul capable of doing so since the death of Gin. Sado stood behind her motionlessly, allowing his mere presence to calm her as he released her hand. It was not long before he felt small soft hands reaching for his large arms. Seconds later Sado found his arms covering Matsumoto's torso from her shoulders with his hands reaching her stomach. He however did not touch her with his hands; his way of thinking would not allow him to do so.

Rukia and Uryu watched the transaction with interest, even more so when Matsumoto seemed to snuggle into Sado and closed her eyes. To act so calm in the middle of the enemy territory, either Matsumoto was an idiot or Sado's aura was just simply that relaxing. Both were actually more inclined to believe that it was in fact the latter of the two.

"Well, well aren't you two acting awfully calm in enemy territory?" came a sadistical sounding voice, all of them turned around to find four figures standing there behind them, all of them had smiles on their features, there were three males and one singular female behind them. All wore the trademark clothing of the Arrancar, except hidden from view was the flaming insignia.

"Now then, how shall we do this? Shall you leave Ichigo-Sama's land peacefully or shall we force you?" the female Arrancar asked sweetly as she cocked her head to the side slightly. All four of them instantly came out of their calm states and got into a state of battle-readiness.

The female Arrancar sighed dramatically. "I guess not then, well, I guess I did hope that it would be this way, I wanted to have some fun" the female finished before she looked directly at her entourage. "BOYS! Go have some fun!" she screamed before the three male Arrancar at her side disappeared in a flash of Sonido and appeared before the group of four with their Zanpaktou drawn.

* * *

Ichigo and Zakabe were sitting in a large open area of Las Noches where some of the Arrancar were sparring against each other, both were depressed due to the fact that neither could get any of the hollows to fight with them. Suddenly they felt an explosive rise in spiritual pressure a few miles outside the walls of Las Noches. Ichigo and Zakabe looked up at each other.

"Well that doesn't sound good" Zakabe said matter of factly before he went to get up, he was soon followed by Ichigo who was smiling.

"Maybe so, but they made an explosion that strong and loud and it can only mean that they are strong wouldn't you say?" Ichigo asked with a grin as Zakabe could literally see the glint of evil and happiness flash in his eyes.

"You really do enjoy your fighting don't you?" Zakabe asked rhetorically before Ichigo nodded like a puppy before vanishing into Sonido, with a sigh Zakabe sped on after him.

* * *

_Hey there you guys, I hope that you enjoy this chapter as it is technically the beginning of the main plot of my story. I hope you enjoyed the lightness at the start and the somewhat angst in the middle, and to those of you who are worried about Orihime's powers disappearing forever, do not fret. I have a key scene in mind for her powers and I do need her for it. As always I hope that you like the chapter and I hope many of you shall stay on to continue reading, I would also like to point out the my reviews have eclipsed 100 so I'm a very happy chappy, keep me happy by reviewing please? =] until next time my friends - Varrukh_


	20. Chapter 20 Demons Revealed

As the Zanpaktou came flying towards them Rukia was the one to step forward and parry as many blades as she could, in essence all she was capable of blocking was two of the rampaging Zanpaktou while a third one managed to weave around her own and she felt a deep cut going into her gut. grunting in pain Rukia held the other two back while the third Zanpaktou kept on digging into her body, it managed to penetrate slightly deeper and at that moment Rukia looked up to the face of the one whose Zanpaktou it actually was.

The Arrancar was male and had long flowing blonde hair; his eyes were shimmering with dark blue that seemed to glow with a malicious grin that was directed right at her. She was not able to see his face for much longer as a fist came out from the side of her vision. The fist was surrounded by small arcs of lightning, which did not look too lethal, but when Rukia figured out just whose hand it was, she knew it was devastating. Sado's fist smashed into the side of the Arrancar's face and sent him careening into one of the other Arrancar, leaving Rukia with only one of the Arrancar to fend off against, even though she was already at a supreme disadvantage

The Arrancar was the almost exact carbon copy of the other two. He had the same hair style and eye colour and his Arrancar attire just like the other two consisted of a white short sleeved shirt and white hakama. The Arrancar leered at her as his eyes roamed all over her body.

"You know with a wound like that, you won't last long against me" the Arrancar gloated before he swiped with his Zanpaktou and forced Rukia backwards a few steps with her Zanpaktou in the air. With her momentarily stunned and unable to regain her composure he charged in at his full pace in order to slash at her abdomen again, alas he was too slow and Rukia's Zanpaktou came back down again and sent his own Zanpaktou digging into the ground. The Arrancar looked up for the briefest of seconds to see Rukia's foot closing in on his face. He closed his eyes and awaited the pain to come. The pain did come but not to the extent that he had expected, her foot crashed into her face of course but the rest of her body followed her foot and she stumbled.

The look on the Arrancar's face became demonic at that moment, Rukia saw the glint of his Zanpaktou as he moved it, she could not believe that she was going to meet her end at the hands of this hollow, and to be beaten so easily was just disgraceful. She had been so different for so long now, it was as if there was a cloud that was persistently not allowing her to move forwards and was stopping her at every turn she made in her life.

She felt the blade touch her skin for the barest of seconds before the pressure was released from her body and she looked up in surprise to see that the Arrancar who had been ready to finish her off was flying through the air. She could see Sado once again in front of her with his arm outstretched in the direction he had sent the two Arrancar.

* * *

"Do not lose focus!" Sado yelled to her before the Arrancar he had been fighting appeared right behind him and he had to spin quickly in order to deflect the blow with his shielded arm. He grunted under the immense pressure that he was put under until he forced back towards the Arrancar and made them step back in astonishment. With a roar Sado brought his other fist to bear upon the Arrancar, his white fist screaming through the air as it approached the Arrancar's face. His fist made contact and there was a definite crack as it connected, right from beneath the Arrancar's feet the sand itself seemed to crack apart and revealed an intricate design in the shape of a skull left in place.

Sado retracted his arm when he did not feel the Arrancar move for a few seconds only to feel the force of that same Arrancar's hand gripping onto his wrist.

"That is not nearly enough to defeat me!" the Arrancar proclaimed before they threw Sado's arm to the side and shot forwards with their right shoulder down, they tackled straight into Sado and with what strength they had sent him flying up into the air too. Sado's gut was forced to its limit and he vomited some spit as he was sent high into the air. He watched below him as Rukia resumed her fight with the Arrancar she had been fighting, she seemed to have re-acquired some determination because she was giving it no mercy, he also saw Uryu fighting one of the Arrancar too, he was doing much better as he was simply staying out of the Arrancar's way and shooting him with his arrows.

"Damn human! That hurt more than I expected, I owe you to take this seriously" the Arrancar said to Sado as he was suddenly right above Sado. Sado looked up in horror at the speed of the Arrancar, and as such was not prepared when the Arrancar delivered his heel right into the abdomen of Sado, again causing him to vomit spit and also a little blood too. Sado fell to the ground roaring in pain until he collided with the ground itself, or what he thought was the ground if his back was not bending around it at such an awkward angle. Feeling himself again lifting into the air he realised that it was not the ground he collided with but his enemies foot that had propelled him back into the air.

Sado was sick of being messed around by the Arrancar and moved to try and stabilise himself. He flipped until his feet were facing the ground and shot spiritual pressure out from his feet in order to be able to stand in the air. He could see the Arrancar closing in on him from below and pointed his left fist in the direction that he was coming from. Collecting the spiritual pressure from the air behind his left shoulder he knew that there was power seeping into his very arm. With enough accumulated Sado roared before he sent his fist forward and at the same time he yelled

"El Directo!" and at the command a massive plume of spiritual pressure exploded from his fist and made contact with the Arrancar, but what came as a shock to Sado the most was the fact that the Arrancar appeared through the residual spiritual pressure and aimed his Zanpaktou for Sado again. Sado had to quickly move his arm so that it was defending him again and had to take the bite of the blade as this time it dug into the flesh of his arm, a feat that had until that point not been accomplished. Sado knew instantly how it had been done though, he could feel a sinister spiritual pressure seeping through the very spiritual pressure and as such knew there was more to the Arrancar than what they were revealing.

The hit on his arm caused Sado to wince in pain and as such his concentration of spiritual pressure at his feet disappeared and he plummeted to the ground. Not to leave a job half done his Arrancar assailant appeared above him again and pile-drove him in the gut yet again and sent him this time colliding into the ground with an almighty smash.

* * *

Uryu watched as the large teen smashed into the ground and looked to where he fell with fear. "Sado!" he screamed as he feared for the teen's life, falling from that height did not leave little chance for him to leave without some form of injury, no matter how tough Sado might be.

"Do not take your attention off me human!" Uryu's opponent yelled at him as he suddenly materialised in front of Uryu, blocking his view of Sado. Uryu done what had become proxy to him and leapt backwards; pulling the string of his bow back he released a huge volley of arrows towards the Arrancar who simply allowed the arrows to bounce off of his body. Uryu grimaced as his attempt at harming the Arrancar was yet again thwarted.

It was then that a thought occurred to him. He aimed his bow and arrow towards the Arrancar directly opposite him and opened up on the Arrancar, firing a volley of arrows that blotted the Arrancar from view, but Uryu knew it was still there, he could hear the impacts as his arrows met Hierro. He kept the onslaught up until with a deafening roar all of the arrows that had been shot towards the Arrancar exploded outwards and Uryu had to dodge as they came flying his way. The Arrancar that he had been fighting was suddenly lunging towards him with hate filled eyes.

The Arrancar was at that moment covered in dangerous red spiritual pressure that seemed spiked and angered, Uryu watched with a grin as he could see that part of his ploy was indeed working. Dispelling his spiritual bow he then twisted around to fetch one of his Seele Schneider, the spiritual pressure poured into the handle of the blade and created the pure spiritual pressure blade. Uryu spun it a few times on his index finger before he moved it into position in order to defend himself from an attack that was coming in an upwards fashion.

Uryu parried the attack but was slow to register that the blade that was crossing over his own was starting to glow with an angry red colour. When realization struck it was too late as the Arrancar snarled and sent out a wave of spiritual pressure while at the same time roaring. "Cero!" The wave of spiritual pressure forced his blade back into him and made him grunt in surprise.

Uryu smashed into the ground below after taking such a strong attack and somehow managing to survive the power behind it. He looked up to find that his enemy was falling towards him with his Zanpaktou raised and a maniacal grin on his face, the Zanpaktou fell towards Uryu and the Arrancar once again spoke up.

"Poor human, you came here to take on the God of Hueco Mundo yet you cannot defend against us!" he yelled before Uryu quickly formed his bow of spiritual pressure and placed his Seele Schneider into position ready to fire. A smirk found its way onto Uryu's face as he watched the Arrancar falling towards him, he fired the Seele Schneider. The Arrancar watched as it closed in on him and began to fear until it reached in front of him and stopped, the blade of spiritual pressure dying out instantly.

The Arrancar was about to laugh out loud until out of the sides of the handle spiritual pressure poured out into solid lines of spiritual pressure. The lines surrounded the Arrancar until he was in a box of spiritual pressure and looking around frantically until his gaze once again fell upon Uryu, the Arrancar could see the smirk on Uryu's face and felt his rage rise to all new levels.

"I will not be beaten by you! A meagre human!" the Arrancar roared before he was once again covered in red spiritual pressure that was violently flowing within the box of Uryu's making. Uryu smirked at the Arrancar's attempts at escape but suddenly felt his smirk fade as red spiritual pressure began to leak through the box of spiritual pressure.

_Impossible!_ Uryu shouted in his own mind as he watched something that should have been impossible happening. The Arrancar's roars grew to new levels before Uryu looked at what the Arrancar was doing, it was currently biting down in his Zanpaktou. Uryu was too late to stop it.

"Tear free: Lycanthrope!" the Arrancar chanted before he bit through his Zanpaktou and was covered in suddenly blue spiritual pressure, the box that had been surrounding him blasted apart and had Uryu panicking slightly, something that could escape that technique was definitely a strong opponent. The rise in spiritual pressure eventually subsides until Uryu could see the form that was left after the spiritual pressure veil fell.

Standing there was the exact depiction of a werewolf in every single respect. The Arrancar looked no longer even resembling of a human. It was a large hunched over beast with black fur that shone blue in the light. Its eyes were a deep red colour and the claws and fangs of the creature glowed with a malign feel to them. The werewolf grinned at Uryu in its new form before leaping forwards towards him.

"This human, is not even the power of Hueco Mundo…" the werewolf admitted before it was right in front of Uryu with its clawed hand back and ready to strike. "… this is the power of Hell!" the werewolf finished before it slashed with its clawed hand towards Uryu. Uryu was barely able to dodge as the clawed hand instead impacted with the ground he had originally took residence in, he was not given long to recuperate as the dust was kicked up and shooting out of it came the werewolf again.

Uryu had to leap to his left in order to dodge the blow again and twisted around in order to release a volley of arrows at the werewolf. It did not faze the beast as it simply landed on the ground and turned on the spot without ever losing its balance. The arrows collided with its body but done nothing to deter the beast and it continued on towards him. Uryu felt some of his ribs creaking when the beast ploughed right into his chest and grunted in pain at the suddenly harsh treatment, kindly given by the beast.

He fell to the ground on his back. Sitting up he could see the beast moving over to him slowly with his malign grin present on his face still and licking at his chops. Uryu felt disgusted at the show and in his attempt to look away he found Rukia holding her own against what looked like some sort of Minotaur. In his attempt to find the other woman of their group Uryu felt his heart stop.

Over where Matsumoto and the female Arrancar were the Arrancar stood with one hand on her hip looking upwards slightly. What had Uryu so shocked was the fact that she was looking up to the face of Matsumoto, who was at that one moment and time impaled upon a spear of what looked like golden bones. Uryu felt his blood run cold, Matsumoto had been seruiously hurt and he was incapable of helping her, it stung at his pride but more importantly he felt like an insufferable loser. It was clear that she meant something to Sado as she was the only woman that Uryu had ever seen Sado acting so close to.

That was when something else struck a chord within Uryu's mind. What would Sado do? The gentle giant was forever the voice of reason, the fighting force made of pure defence, what would he do if he were to see Matsumoto in her current state?

* * *

Matsumoto was definitely in a bit of a fucked position. As if a spear going through your gut was not fucked up enough, she could not even scream out for help because she knew from her enemy that they were in no better shape than she at that moment and time. Matsumoto had already felt her heart sink when she had saw Sado fall to the ground and cry out in pain as he hit the ground.

"Why are you people even here, Shinigami?" the female Arrancar asked her causing Matsumoto to turn to her captor at that moment and time. Despite having very little strength left Matsumoto still struggled to speak her mind.

"We're here to save Orihime" Matsumoto struggled out finally after a few tries beforehand. The female Arrancar who held her in the current predicament grew a grin on her face that seemed far too demonic on the picturesque beauty of her face. The female brought Matsumoto closer to herself before whispering in the impaled woman's ear.

"Then you are looking in the wrong place" the female whispered to her before laughing in her face. The female then put her idle hand onto Matsumoto's shoulder and pulled her closer, moving her down the bone spear. It was then that Matsumoto's will not to scream finally broke and her howls of pain rang out into the ever long night of Hueco Mundo.

* * *

Ichigo stopped abruptly and Zakabe was forced to veer around him so as not to collide with Ichigo. Instead of turning to Ichigo in anger as he would prefer to do, he turned to see the serious look on Ichigo's face and knew that there just had to be something bad going on.

"What's the problem sir?" Zakabe asked as he retraced his steps back until he was back with Ichigo who was looking over in the distance, it took Zakabe a moment to look where Ichigo was intently staring and when he did it became quite clear just why Ichigo had stopped. Far off in the distance there was a plume of blue spiritual pressure shooting up into the air in a violent maelstrom.

"What the hell could that be?" Zakabe asked in extreme interest now, if something could pour out that much power they must be worthy of a good fight.

"It can't be good, that is certain" Ichigo answered him causing Zakabe to turn to him with a confused look about his face.

"What do you mean sir?" Zakabe asked before again looking back to the spiritual pressure maelstrom when Ichigo continued to stare in that direction.

"Though that spiritual pressure does feel strong enough to fight, it is tempered somewhat, through the rage and hatred we can feel that makes it so appealing to fight, I feel a great sense of pain in the spiritual pressure, I don't think this is good at all" Ichigo answered while Zakabe just stared at him blankly, it finally registered to Zakabe as he mentally though, pain = no fight, for now anyway. "We better get there before something really bad becomes of this, I don't want to have to rebuild bits of Hueco Mundo, that takes time and too much effort" Ichigo talked very seriously and at the same time calmly.

"Very well sir, but you owe me a fight when this is all over" Zakabe said with a grin before Ichigo turned to him with the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"After we have this all sorted out, we'll go to the battle arena ok?" Ichigo asked with a smile that Zakabe could have sworn somehow looked worried?

Zakabe nodded his head before they were off in the direction of the potently strong spiritual pressure, there was just something telling Zakabe that Ichigo was indeed worried and if that was the case, this may in fact very well turn out to be highly interesting.

* * *

Uryu was scared, screw scared this was a new emotion just invented that still had no name to it. One moment he had been fighting against the werewolf and the next everyone within the area had been blasted and fallen to their knees under the strong spiritual pressure they were suddenly subject to. From the position on his back Uryu sat up to try and find out the source of what had ever so suddenly caused such a huge explosion of spiritual pressure, he had only ever known Zaraki Kenpachi and Ichigo to ever be capable of such feats.

What sight he was in fact greeted with would be denied by all who were to think on the subject. There stood a creature with wisps of blue and red spiritual pressure floating around him, was what was once Sado. In place of the gentle Mexican giant stood the image of a demon. His feet and legs were entire covered in a black coating that looked the same as what was usually found on his arms, intricate designs of flames were upon the legs too in white. The coating reached as far as his waist where it turned to two different colours, the coating split up the centre of his spine until it reached his neck. On the right the armour was white with the intricate designs of red still there, there were also at least three spikes above the shoulder. On the left side the design stayed black but the intricate designs were also red again and on this shoulder were three prongs opened and collecting spiritual pressure.

Uryu could not see the front of Sado but could tell from his current position that there was something across the giant's face, add to that the fact that he seemed physically taller and that his hair had grown and became wilder than Uryu would ever have imagined on the Mexican teen.

Uryu looked to where Matsumoto was and understood now. She was currently slung under Sado's left arm, his guardian arm, she would be safest there, especially since Uryu could see the powers of Sado's right arm brimming uncontrollably, sparks of lightning connecting from his arm to the ground. Sado turned around slowly and lay Matsumoto on the ground gently beside the shocked from of Rukia. She had seen the full view of Sado and honestly, she was more afraid of Sado like this than Ichigo.

There was definitely something covering Sado's face, something that probably should have been there always but never was for some reason. There was a hollow mask covering his face. The mask looked much like the one Ichigo had when he had fought Ulquiorra with a few differences, first of all being that the mask red, second of all was that instead of a single pair of bull horns there were three pairs at the top of the mask, slightly above the eye holes and the third pair essentially being extensions on the side of the original pair. Not only that but there was a hollow hole slowly opening up in the centre of his chest that once finally open, Sado had laid Matsumoto down and turned back to the woman responsible.

Sado's mask opened and the deepest roar any of them had heard a hollow roar was unleashed, everyone could literally feel the sound waves as they smashed against everyone present. Rukia sat in fear with Matsumoto cradled over her legs as she watched the gentle giant turned monstrous beast roaring. It was then that something terrifying happened. There were two collections of spiritual pressure happening. One was centred between the two sets of horns on the top of his mask and the other at the third pair. The spiritual pressure eventually formed into balls of cero, one being black in colour and the other being white in colour.

Everyone in the same vicinity as him, including the four 'hollows' watched him in astonishment, there could be absolutely no way that what he was performing was possible. The balls of condensed spiritual pressure grew until they were touching the horn's tips. It was then that both balls came together across the eyes holes of the mask. With another deafening roar Sado let loose the potent cero that he had been charging in a swirling mixture of black and white energy.

The female was incapable of moving in time and was only saved the full brute of the attack when her three subordinates done as they should rightly have done and took the hit for her. It did not matter though, even with all three of them taking the hits in their normal forms no less, she was still hit with a mighty powerful portion of the attack.

Screaming in pain the female was forced to use the last of her precautionary measures. She blasted spiritual pressure out of her body and revealed her true self. The act causing a huge surge in spiritual pressure and somewhat lessening the power that she was hit with. That did not by any means suggest that she was not hit with the cero at all, far from it, she was just hurt the tiniest bit less.

The dust settled from around the blast sight and everyone was shocked when they saw no more of the ones they had been fighting and were only able to see the female of their group, and at that she did not look like she used to and was burned heavily. The woman was a pure white colour where the blackness from burning was not on her body and was very immodestly appearing. Her body was naked from the waist upwards and even at that, the only thing covering her waist was the skimpiest piece of material, that was burnt and everything too.

"You are definitely an interesting one, with hollows powers you managed to get rid of three human demons and were even able to harm me, a Greater Demon" the woman said as she was currently breathing hard and staring at Sado with something between hunger and hatred, right now the creature herself wasn't too sure what was more likely. She both wanted to fuck the man and at the same time kill him, it was all so very confusing, then again she could always do both, it never hurt to try.

The demon began sashaying her way over to the form of the creature which was so close to killing her only moments before. The beast stood still watching her as she made her way over. She felt something in the pit of her stomach tell her that he was as good as hers. As she was finally close to him she threw her arm around one of the much larger and oddly shaped arms of the once man.

"You know, in hell, I wouldn't mind having a beast like you claiming me and giving me endless streams of pleasure, sounds almost like what heaven might feel like, even though I wouldn't know that to begin with" the demoness said in her sexiest voice she could muster, which definitely was strong, with both Uryu struggling to contain himself and even Rukia having thoughts about the attractiveness of the woman.

The charm did not however seem to be working on the creature that was Sado; even as the temptress rubbed her bust against the arm of the giant he did not show any signs of it affecting him at all. Instead they could hear the audible crack as he tightened his fist and slowly brought it up, away from the form of the demoness, making said demoness not a happy lady.

"You know, having me interested in you is something you should be proud of, there are not many creatures capable of making me want to fuck them, there has only ever been two others that have made me think as such" the woman admitted as a sexy smile leaked out onto her beautiful features, still it did not face the creature that was once Sado.

With his arm raised Sado brought it around quickly and his arm collided with the face of the beauty, she was sent across much of the desert before she flipped in mid-air and landed on her feet again. She wiped her arm across her mouth where blood was beginning to form and wiped it away. She grinned towards the creature that had hit her and gained a smirk.

"Playing hard to get are we? Usually that is my game, but I'll play just this once for you" the beauty said seductively as she leapt from the ground and moved her hands to the sides of her loincloth. From either side, two streams of red viscous liquid formed from nowhere and suddenly formed into two long daggers that glowed with an angry purple colour, looking as if they were coated in poison or something to that affect. She landed on the ground again in a pose similar to that of one who was about to dance, she held her daggers with the handle facing towards her and the blade on the outer side of her hand.

She leapt from the ground where she landed, leaving behind her a crated due to the sheer mount of power used to climb so high. Crossing her arms over each other she descended upon the creature of Sado and slashed, cutting the blades towards the face, or mask of the one she so desperately wished would fuck her stupid, she already felt the heat of her body rising to levels that would easily kill a human. The slash did not hit the man to her happiness as he brought his right arm up and the full power of his shield was shown as it was coated in his spiritual pressure, causing her blade to bounce off when it hit.

With her body exposed she felt pride when the creature turned to look at her, expecting it to be marvelling at her body. So lost was she in her belief that she never noticed his other arm racing around, crackling with electrical energies flowing from the spikes all up and down his entire left arm. The fist ploughed into her abdomen and she felt the full force of the hit 100 percent, and it made her want his power to herself all the more, the thirst for his power grew exponentially with that hit. Even as the much more demonic skull grew out from the impact area across the ground she felt her body reacting to his power, and it liked his power.

"What is going on with that woman?" Rukia hissed to Uryu who was standing beside the petite Shinigami, in all honestly Uryu throughout his entire experiences of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo had never seen anything like this, as such he had no real answer for her.

"I don't know, it is almost like her spiritual pressure has become more excited the more Sado hits her, at the same time his rises in anger, this won't end well" Uryu answered causing Rukia to look at the usually stoic Quincy. She was not mistaken when she had heard his voice, it was almost as scared as her own, and that meant it was something he did not understand and it was clear that Uryu was never comfortable with something he did not know.

Although it was understandable why he was as terrified as she was also, the man who was well known for his gentleness had in almost all basic terms, lost his humanity. Sado leaned back slightly before leaning forward again just as quick and released a bombshell of a roar from his maw, causing the very sound waves from his cry of hatred to become physically visible. The waves of sound shook the very ground and raced towards the beauty. She raised her arms defensively and her blades glowed a brighter form of purple when the waves hit them, going as far as to cause sparks to fly.

_Sparks! His scream is strong enough to collide with my weapons and cause sparks? Just what in the hell is this beast!_ Were the thoughts running through the beauties mind as her body finally stopped moving further away from Sado, the force had been strong enough to collide with her and send her across the desert floor. _I must have that power! I must make him mine; I will take no other substitute other than he!_ The beauty yelled in her mind as she looked to the beast again. He had crouched and was ready to charge again.

Sado's feet left the ground and he was finally on his way over to the offending woman that had turned his normally calm composure into that of a beast. The beauty smiled when she saw him coming for her and found the final part of her plan complete, she clicked her right finger and behind her a doorway of flames opened up. He was halfway to her and it was then that the creature noticed what was before it. Its attempts at escape showed to the beauty that the beast knew he was captured.

* * *

It was only in the next instant that he was saved from such a fate. Because just in the nick of time came two figures that all in the area knew, well they all knew one. With men of flowing orand and red hair and the other with short silver hair there was a new level within the area all of a sudden. The very sand groaned after the sudden arrival of the two men. With both od them holding back a shoulder of the beast that was Sado, the very ground underneath the three men was starting to groan and complain under the straing of their mixed spiritual pressures.

The beauty had a look on her face that look ed like a mixture of pure fury and at the same time absolute Euphoria. She had been thwarted in her quest for one of the sexiest beasts she had ever seen but at the same time she had lured out the other two beasts that had caught her eyes. This was indeed a happy day for her.

"Is this a buy one get two free kinda deal? Because if so, I love this place!" the beauty screamed in glee as the beast within the other two men's arms struggled to move again, intent on ripping to shreds the woman before them. Ichigo and Zakabe looked at the woman and managed to supress the blood fountain that seemed almost inevitable. It was then that Ichigo turned to Zakabe with a look of confusion but also seriousness on his face, how Ichigo managed that one, Zakabe had yet to understand.

"We have met this lady before haven't we?" Ichigo asked his comrade who nodded his head slightly, not taking his eyes off of the alien beauty of the creature standing before them.

"Yes, she was present when I gave your body over to Volak, she was on one side of him whereas the demon version of … Zurak… was on the other" Zakabe struggled as he spoke the name of his fallen battle brother but regained himself soon afterwards. It wouldn't do to look weak in front of both this woman and the humans too.

Ichigo noticed his momentary blip but did not say anything, it would be something that they would work on later, that was just the way things worked with Zakabe whenever Zurak was brought up. He nodded his head as he stared over at the beauty, his attention was brought back to the man in his and Zakabe's arms as he made another violent attempt to break free and charge at the beauty. It was only when Ichigo looked at the man in his hold that he registered to his utmost shock, just who it was in such an enraged state.

"Sado?" Ichigo asked almost pained. What could have possibly happened that could do this to his friend? What was possibly capable of making his calm and composed friend suddenly flip his lid?

Ichigo scanned the area around them as he held onto the rapidly strengthening beast. He found the other forms of Uryu and Rukia standing not too far away, they both seemed fine and did not seem to flinch much when his eyes fell upon them, even if Rukia did look away from him as his eyes landed on her, he paid it no attention however, until she apologised to him he would waste no time with her. It was only when his survey brought his eyes to the prone body of Matsumoto lying on the ground.

Now although right now he would have loved to jump for joy at this there were two problems with that. First of all was the beast he was trying to hold back from leaping at the woman and possibly losing himself in that flaming portal. The second part was even he was smart enough to put two and two together, seeing the prone and bleeding form of Matsumoto and the suddenly enraged form of Sado giving both Ichigo and Zakabe a hard time holding him back. They could restraing him properly if they wanted to but Ichigo didn't want to hurt his friend. Instead he did something else.

Ichigo made a tendril of his own spiritual pressure extend from his hand that was currently holding onto Sado's shoulder. One tendril multiplied into multiple until there were hundreds of them floating around almost tickling the face of the giant. It was then that Ichigo commanded the tendrils to do anything. He forced the tendrils into the body of Sado, although it may have looked inhumane and painful, in actuall fact it was neither. Ichigo was saving Sado. Ichigo sucked out all of the anger, the hate, the rage, the pain. He took all of it and as this happened the armour thath had spread across Sado's body slowly receeded into the hollow hole in the centre of his chest. With the last of it moving inwards there was a blinding white flash. When the light subsided, Sado was lying on the ground completely back to normal and fine, breathing gently in sleep.

Zakabe had felt the giants spiritual pressure subsiding and then felt as he became limp in his arms. Zakabe also however felt the rise in Ichigo's spiritual pressure, he felt the levels of anger rising too though, the spiritual pressure was rising too rapidly for anyone within the same vicinity. Zakabe moved the gaint asa quickly as he could and moved away from Ichigo. Who had by then turned into a violent maelstrom of spiritual pressure just as they had witnessed before, such power was far too dangerous. Zakabe moved Sado over to the other three, taking them as comrades of Ichigo's he decided his best move was in protecting them.

Zakabe watched Ichigo intently as the spiritual pressure continued its wild dance of chaos. The same could be said off the demonic beauty who felt her entire body heating up at the show of power, she had already forgotten about the other one by now. Ichigo roared out in what sounded like pain but suddenly the violence of the maelstrom was dying down and there was no movements. The kicked up dust and dirt fell to the ground and revealed Ichigo again. He stood just as he had before without anything different about him. Except one detail ichigo's right arm was revealed as the fabric of his cloting looked like it had been evaporated, his arm was now no longer its usual tan colour. Now it was a deep red colour, it looked as if his arm was transparent with what looked like flowing energies going through his arm, the entire arm was smooth, and it was covered in tribal tattoos much like those on his chest.

Ichigo looked at his arm for a moment before he clenched tightly and turned to look at the woman again.

"You will regret harming my friend!" Ichigo hissed while the woman grew a sickly sweet smile that Ichigo knew meant trouble.

"I may very well regret hurting such a fackable piece of meat, just as I would if I hurt you or Zakabe-kun over there, alas however, I can't play with you men anymore, despite how much I want to, my circle of Hell will be in even more chaos if I don't return soon" the beauty replied as she turned and placed her hand on one of the flaming frames of the doorway to hell. Before she was fully through though she stopped and looked to everyone out the corner of her vision. "Don't make me wait too long Ichigo-kun, I'd hate to think that you don't like me all that much" the beauty said to him as she moved inside the doorway to hell and faced him, winking and blowing him a kiss before the flaming walls of the doorway closed and evaporated.

All that was left was Ichigo and the group of people who had infiltrated Hueco Mundo, alongside Zakabe who was currently holding Sado up, if only just. The silence was deafening, no-one wanted to be the one to break the silence, it gave off the illusion that things were fine and that there were not going to be any problems, unfortunately, none of them were quite so naïve.

"What are you all doing here?" came the cold and powerful voice of Ichigo, his arm dissolved from red to his normal tan again and he turned back to look at all the infiltrators in his domain. His eyes fell on Uryu, the one man who was still standing and the only one he could trust to give him an honest answer. Uryu realised that the question was more directed towards him and answered in kind.

"We are here to find Inoue-san" Uryu admitted as he shoved his glasses further up his nose. He expected to see a dark look cover over Ichigo's face, and true to his expectations it done just that, but he could see the worry also written within his eyes and had second thoughts about the whereabouts of the orange haired beauty.

"what has happened to her?" Ichigo asked in the most dangerous voice anyone within their vicinity had ever heard. Zakabe had heard the way the the Orihime woman had treated Ichigo, but the response that Ichigo gave showed he was not kidding around. He wanted to know where Orihime was, and he did not sound like one with whom to withhold information from.

* * *

_Well here you go guys, I do hope that you are enjoying this story as it progresses onwards, I am definitely enjoying writing all of these fight scenes, I guess it is kinda my specialty. Anyway, to the many of you who have been waiting patiently on The Return Of The Hero Of Konoha I shall possibly have the next chapter up within the next few days, so have patience =]. Anyway, until next time my friends, enjoy! - Varrukh_


	21. Chapter 21 Fury And Fear

His very posture told them not to withhold anything and honestly Uryu did not plan to keep anything from him. But he had had the sneaking suspicions that Ichigo might have in fact been the one to take Orihime. With the manner in which Ichigo had directed his question it left the Quincy rethinking about what may be the real case.

"We're here… to…. Save Orihime" came the wheezing voice over to the side of Zakabe. He looked down at the form of an orange haired woman who was hunched over in her seated position. She was breathing heavily and Zakabe could see the wound that she had sustained, without any medical attention, the woman was going to struggle to survive.

Ichigo's attention was diverted to the struggling woman and his eyes softened slightly but still held much anger at not being told the actual reason for their presence. "Then why are you here?" Ichigo asked her quite simply as he turned to look at her, his vision passed over the form of Zakabe and he could see the look that Zakabe had, it was worry, not for the woman but for Ichigo. Of course he knew who the woman was and did not see Ichigo taking this very well, he was hollow by nature, he was just very good at supressing the urges.

"We thought that Orihime would be here, whether of her own accord or not, was sceptical to us" Uryu answered Ichigo's question directly. He did not wish for misunderstandings, nor did he want things being revealed later on down the line that would directly affect things, just get the ugly stuff out the way quickly. Ichigo's reaction was to turn to the bespectacled man with a look that was halfway between annoyance and gratitude. Thought the annoyance seemed somewhat greater.

"I will tell you this once, and I shall not repeat myself, Orihime Inoue is not on any part of the land of Hueco Mundo" Ichigo answered as he opened his arms out into a wide arc, trying to physically show to them all that she was nowhere near them. Uryu was still slightly sceptical but did not voice such opinions; he would tell Ichigo the truth but not his opinions.

"Then where … do you suppose… she is?" Matsumoto struggled out as she forced her own body against its will and stood up on her two feet again. Zakabe looked at the woman in slight surprise, compared to some of the people within their current area, her spiritual pressure was not too strong, but to force her body to the point of standing again after such a wound had been landed on her body was impressive.

"I do not know where Orihime may reside, try your soul society, they may have taken her as they did with Rukia" Ichigo said with a surprisingly large and potent voice. Even Zakabe was surprised by the amount of venom held by those words, he hadn't heard Ichigo talking like that before, he was almost acting like he did not care about the woman any longer.

His thoughts were smashed however with Ichigo's next sentence. "However, you better hope that soul society does not have Orihime, I fought them off to save Rukia, I will destroy the dimension to save Orihime" Ichigo said in his usual confident and determined tone. Rukia felt that she had almost been second placed. Actually she technically had, he had said he saved her yes, but he admitted he would do so much more for Orihime.

"Zakabe!" Ichigo called as he turned around and prepared to leave the immediate area. Zakabe turned his head to the direction that Ichigo had shouted from.

"Yes?" Zakabe asked quickly.

"We shall return to Las Noches" Ichigo answered as he began to walk away, Uryu couldn't believe what he was seeing, there was no way that Ichigo was going to walk away after saying something like that, Ichigo would never do that.

"Kurosaki! You can't seriously be thinking of deserting Orihime in a time like this!" Uryu yelled across the desert towards the form of Ichigo which twitched when it heard those words in its ears. Ichigo turned back slowly so that only his left eye could be seen as he turned and Uryu was shown the full glare of Ichigo's golden eyes in all their evil glory.

"Uryu, I have the qualities of a hollow, a Zanpaktou and a dimensional shattering orb, for me to be a creature of selfishness and hatred is not a hard thing to believe" Ichigo began as his voice seemed to bring on an echoing effect usually brought about when his mask was on. "I was a hollow for over a year, and things like that change your perception of life and of bonds, with the way that Orihime acted when she knew the truth of my existence it hurt. It was only more hurtful due to the fact that she had been so close to me the night before and said that she loved me" Ichigo finished as his voice became venomous near the end of his speech.

"Are you saying that the Kurosaki you were around all of us was nothing but a front, right now you are not even Kurosaki Ichigo, you are but a collection of souls that has taken his form" Uryu asked with his own voice fringing upon venomous also, he did not like the idea of being fooled by a hollow, it stamped on his pride. He was momentarily taken out of his usual comfort zone when a strong hand was applying a huge amount of force on his throat.

"Do not mistake me Quincy! I am Kurosaki Ichigo, I am the same man you once knew, I have just seen the ugly side of death and do not enjoy being questioned" Ichigo answered back his voice biting at them all like an icy dagger. Ichigo released his grip on Uryu and turned his back upon the startled man.

"Zakabe, prepare all battle ready Arrancar, we leave for Soul Society" Ichigo said as he walked away, those words tore a hole in every one of the group that had come along, how could he talk so casually about doing something like that? It was beyond absurd it was downright scary.

"You can't be serious Ichigo!" Rukia cried from where she was left kneeling on the ground, the second her voice called out his head snapped to her direction and she was under that malign eyes of Ichigo, those hate filled eyes that told of his pain, of his hatred, his rage. All of that was directed upon her.

"I can be serious Kuchiki-san, I turned that place upside down to save you, I will do so much worse if I find that Orihime was kidnapped by them" Ichigo answered in his icy cold voice. His spiritual pressure was beginning to spin around him and blow up wind causing the sand around him to rise off the ground and surround him. "No matter what any of you can say or do, I will go to Soul Society and I shall find Orihime" Ichigo said in a very authorative voice that Zakabe nodded his head to, of course he knew Ichigo was talking the truth on this. When he used that voice it tended to mean that Ichigo was determined. With that Zakabe turned and vanished from view, to get all battle ready Arrancar.

* * *

"No!" screamed Rukia and Matsumoto the second Zakabe had left them. Ichigo simply looked at them, why were they here? Of course they would think he had done it, he was being persecuted because of his very nature… how nice. As much as he really wished to get rid of them before they became a pest there were two things that stopped him, both of them being men that he cared about and would do all in his power to help out.

Ichigo hated what he was about to do, but he felt it was the only thing he could possibly do that would show he was even capable of any shred of compassion. He raised his right hand and opened his palm in the direction of all four of the intruders within his lands. In the centre of his palm spiritual pressure began to form into a sphere of malign red.

All who were conscious enough gasped in fright, Ichigo was going to end them with a cero! Without any sign of emotion or any indication of unleashing the orb of power the beam shot towards all of the intruders. Most raised their arms in defence against the murderous beam shooting towards them.

What none of them had anticipated was that when the beam touched Uryu who was first on the path of the attack, the beam then separated and completely surrounded them until it reached the form of Matsumoto who was the last in the haphazard line of all of them. When it closed together and became one again. The energy then moved over the top of their heads and connected above them creating a glowing dome of red all around them, when they again looked to the direction they knew Ichigo to be they noticed that the red colour disappeared and the dome became transparent.

Walking towards them all was Ichigo with his same hand outstretched his face looked void of all emotion as he made his way over. Uryu was not about to let himself be killed quite so easily and as such he reignited his spiritual bow and unleashed a volley in Ichigo's direction. The arrows were duds against the walls of the dome however as they were simply absorbed into the dome itself.

"What the…?" Uryu asked himself as he watched his spiritron arrows simply disappearing and becoming one with the dome that surrounded them, he saw no look coming over Ichigo's face as he moved right over to them, it was only when Ichigo literally got over to one of the walls of the dome that any different looks made their presence on his face.

"Don't try to fight back because I need all my concentration for this, if you mess up my concentration It'll just be more painful" Ichigo said to them emotionlessly, he really didn't want to do it, but to save his name as still part human he knew that he would have to do it. Even if such an action could have the potential to come back and bite him sometime in the near future. Uryu looked at him disbelievingly, Ichigo did not care, Uryu knew that there was no way out so it was either get hurt or take it as it came.

"What do you plan to do exactly?" Uryu asked only to be completely ignored. Ichigo's hand met with the outer wall of the dome and suddenly the transparent red dome sparked and was suddenly entirely coloured white all around them, as if they were put into a dome of pure light. At the top of the dome four tendrils of the dome seeped out and moved to each person, it did not matter if they tried to evade or not the vines found them and once they touched a person they wrapped around them. It was not by any means a way of holding them, it was simply the spiritual pressure coating them somewhat.

Then a warm feeling began to take over the forms of all of them. Uryu would have thought this a technique that meant slow death, but he felt so light and warm and when he looked over to Sado, he could see that the large man had opened his eyes again and was looking around confused and worried. His eyes fell upon the form of Matsumoto and momentarily Uryu saw that look of fear cross Sado's face, but as time went by Matsumoto's breathing returned and she propped herself up again and looked around confused herself.

It was at that point that Uryu honestly had no idea what was going on. It had looked so much like Ichigo was going to attack them and basically finish them off, but with the warm and inviting aura that the dome was giving off, added to the fact that everyone's injuries were being healed at the same time honestly did make Uryu wonder what the end result of this technique would be.

Eventually the warm effect wore off and Uryu felt better than he had in a very long time, it was as if his body had awoke from a sleep of just the right amount of time and was very happy with the condition his body was in. looking around he could see that everyone was on their feet too and looking around themselves at the white dome surrounding them. Sado reached out inquisitively and touched a wall of the dome only to have his hand electrocuted and a shock to run up his arm. As he retracted his arm at high speeds they all watched as the dome around them vanished and slowly disappeared to one space. Eventually it shrunk until it was but a sheet of white on Ichigo's palm before disappearing completely. It was only then that they were all shown the sheer determination of Ichigo. His face was sweating heavily and as the dome fell apart his face resumed its emotionless mask.

"Proof of my humanity" Ichigo said simply before he was surrounded by seven figures.

* * *

He looked up and was surprised by who it was that had come besides the presence of Zakabe and Sera which he knew would have come he was also surrounded by another five figures, more than he had really anticipated to be honest.

There were four male Arrancar and a singular female Arrancar that had joined them, they were some of the remnants of the unit that had followed Zakabe when they had first stormed Las Noches, and he had always wondered what happened to them. He nodded to them all as he turned on the spot to look at those he had just healed.

"Since you have come here for naught I shall help you in returning home" Ichigo said as he pointed in front of himself and a Garganta began to tear free of the restraints of reality. Ichigo then stepped around it so that they could see him again and indicated it with his thumb. "This Garganta is headed towards the realm of the humans, take it if you want or follow me or even stay here if you want, I don't care" Ichigo finished coldly as he then turned to the cohort of Arrancar that would be accompanying him on his way into the Soul Society.

"You all know what you are here for I hope?" Ichigo asked them as they all looked to their deity and nodded their heads diligently, Ichigo smiled at the sight of them seeing his viewpoint in this and nodded himself. Turning to look at Sera and Zakabe he could see that both were looking at him seriously for the first time in a while. "I thank you two for accompanying me, if you however do not wish to come please say so" Ichigo said to them with a smile that he tried to make as little condescending as he could.

"Say that again and I don't care if you are God or not, I will kill you" Sera said while she put on the façade of a sweet smile while Ichigo literally could feel that his life flashed before his eyes. Girls were scary, it was official. It did not help anywhich way with Zakabe's next comment.

"Please don't rile her up, if she gets angry I get hurt, it's not nice" Zakabe complained which then meant that Sera's attention was focussed on him and the way Ichigo watched Zakabe's face contort in sheer horror had him almost laughing despite the current situation, he loved it when those close to him could make situations that much lighter. Sera's smile did not disappear, nor did the sickly sweet voice as she asked Zakabe her next question.

"Are you trying to insinuate that I am unstable when I am angry?" she asked slowly and almost sultry, but the way in which Zakabe was literally shielding his body from her and looking in sheer terror at her had everyone convinced that Zakabe was in for a world of hurt.

"n…n…no of course not!" Zakabe said as he waved his hands in front of his chest disarmingly while smiling nervously, Ichigo simply watched in amusement while Zakabe's squad all watched with mixed emotions, the males looked in terror as they could tell what Sera could do in a bad mood, it truly was terrifying. The female Arrancar however smiled happily, glad that Sera was finally able to get quite as close as she was with Zakabe, it was the closest she had ever seen them since the event that split them apart.

"That's good then" Sera said as she simply walked off with a happy smile plastered on her face, causing all of the male Arrancar to drop to the ground after worrying for so long, they were sure their leader was dead. Ichigo inwardly chuckled at the antics of his subordinates, two years ago with the Espada and Arrancar under Aizen, Ichigo would have never thought Arrancar to be quite as happy and funny as they were, it was by no means a bad thing however.

"Right let us go now, if I find that Orihime is in any form of trouble you had all better be ready to take on the entirety of Soul Society" Ichigo said as he looked at them all individually. They all nodded once again and Ichigo was assured that they were now ready to depart. Turning on the spot he opened up yet another Garganta. Just as he was about to step through he was halted by the sound of a voice.

"Don't think you are going anywhere without me" came a voice from behind them all and Ichigo turned around to the familiar voice with a hint of surprise.

For it was none other than Tatsuki who was standing there, not only that but it was her entire appearance that had him surprised the most.

She had adorned the clothing of the Arrancar for whatever reasons she may have, although the look that Sera gave Tatsuki and then Ichigo may have been an indication. It was simple enough attire that she wore. With the regular white pants and sandals, the only different thing from most Arrancar was that her torso was covered by a tank top of pure white fabric that looked slightly strained against her body and it also revealed some of her toned stomach. At her side was a small dagger tucked into a small holster that was strapped to her waist.

Currently her hand was resting on her waist as she looked at Ichigo who was at that moment staring at her, she was enjoying the view of him staring at her when she noticed who was behind him and she scowled. Of course she knew their reason for being there at that moment and time, it was partly her reason for being there, the other being the man who was staring at her in complete and utter disbelief.

Yet after a moment it was as if a button had been pressed within his mind and his look changed from disbelief to a hard look that gave nothing away about him. It was almost as if he managed to perfectly form his hollow mask across his face without it taking tangible form. Tatsuki watched as this mask went up and was half surprised but half expected it, it was a sign that things were not quite the way she had anticipated.

"Let's go guys, I'd prefer to be out of here before Sachi or Kyota catch wind of what we are doing here" Ichigo said as he stepped through the Garganta before him and disappeared from sight. The Arrancar all looked to each other before following suit, which was until there was only Tatsuki, Sera and Zakabe left. Zakabe looked to Tatsuki before snarling and stepping through the Garganta.

* * *

"He doesn't seem to like you at all Tatsuki, maybe he doesn't trust you because you betrayed us so easily" Matsumoto almost spat as she leaned up against Sado for support. Uryu and Rukia were watching the scene in mild trepidation, there was still one Arrancar left and she seemed to be strong, if not by the way she carried herself then by the way she made all of the others almost cower in fear had shown them enough.

Despite the venomous words coming from Matsumoto, Tatsuki smiled an almost devious and sadistic grin, causing most of the group of four to look at her in shock. "I don't have to worry about his distaste for me, I am repenting for my actions and since Ichigo and I are close he won't touch me" Tatsuki explained while she grinned almost like a maniac. Her smile softened when she looked to her left and saw Sera standing there staring at the four carefully, scoping them out for any signs of attack. "It also helps that I have Sera on my side too, otherwise things might have been trickier" Tatsuki admitted as she indicated Sera with her thumb.

"That doesn't help the fact that you have betrayed all of us, even Orihime, Tatsuki you are the worst kind of person, one who abandons their comrades" Matsumoto said as she stood up again, feeling strength within her body that she had not felt in a long time. Tatsuki looked at her again without any hint of sadness at those words, if anything she seemed amused.

"If I had betrayed Orihime I would not be as willing as I am to go with Ichigo to take on Soul Society in order to find her, I have known Orihime for over ten years, you have only known her for maybe three, do not think that you know her nor care for her better than I" Tatsuki said as she took a step in Matsumoto's direction and increased her spiritual pressure output, surprising them all with the sudden rise in her spiritual pressure, it had not always been so powerful.

"Arisawa-san, what have you done?" Uryu asked strenuously as he strained against the potent spiritual pressure emitted from the tom-boy. There was no way that she had always had such an evil aura about her, it felt like she had sold her soul to the devil in order to gain such immense power.

"You make it sound like I gained this power illegally" Tatsuki complained with slight humour to which Sera giggled slightly covering her mouth with her hand. "I've always had this power" Tatsuki explained as she then lessened her output of spiritual pressure causing breathing for all of them to come easier. "It's only because I trained so vigorously in order to control such power…" Tatsuki began as she accumulated some spiritual pressure into her hand and it turned into flames, but not any flames, blue hot flames that were completely covering her hand. "… Since I've been training to fight Ichigo this whole time" Tatsuki finished as she cancelled the power running to her hand and moved to the Garganta. "If you truly want to save Orihime, you are better off apologising to Ichigo soon, because the window of opportunity is slowly fading" Tatsuki finished before finally walking into the Garganta.

The only ones still standing within the area were now only Sera and the four of the group. All of them looked to the woman with much distaste yet she did not seem fazed in the slightest by the looks, in fact she smiled to them all before she spoke.

"I know that things did not go quite so well when he returned to the world of the living, I know everything that happened and I know all of you and your personalities, powers, traits and whatever I need to know really. I am not the one you must worry about though, if you do follow through on Tatsuki's proposal to try and talk to Ichigo, watch out for Zakabe" Sera began as she did not take her gaze from any of them, her smile never once faltering.

"Ichigo may be much more than happy to accept that his nakama are apologising to him, yet Zakabe is not so easily forgiving, you have seen how he acts with Tatsuki and that is after she apologised and Ichigo even talked to him about her. Anyway I thought I might as well warn you for future reference, goodbye and good luck with whatever you decide to do" Sera finished as she smiled to them all and then followed Tatsuki into the swirling abyss of the Garganta.

* * *

The swirling abyss of the Garganta however did not disappear. It hung in the air alongside its counterpart that led all the way back to the human world. No-one moved for a long time until Sado finally made a move for the Garganta, surprising both of the Shinigami but not quite Uryu.

"What are you doing Sado?" Rukia asked completely confused to why he would follow through into a Garganta that Ichigo had just ventured into after saying he was going to battle Soul Society.

"This serves two purposes that none of us can ignore. First of all being the retrieval of Orihime, only Uryu and I can do so without worries of whose side we are on, we only wish to save her, for you two it serves the purpose of getting you to Soul Society and not making it suspicious that you are not there when Ichigo attacks" Sado explained as he simply left at that, not even giving anyone the chance to reply. Uryu smirked slightly before he too entered the Garganta. Sado may not say much, but he definitely knew what to say whenever he did finally talk.

Rukia and Matsumoto were forced to look at each other before they had to admit the logic did make sense and followed onwards. Rukia took the slightest of moments to wonder what the current situation of Renji was before she moved into the Garganta, her thoughts a riling mess between the awkwardness with Renji and the very way that Ichigo was acting towards her, she was really not having a good time of it.

* * *

Said man was currently sitting in the throne room of Las Noches with two women on each of his sides. He honestly did not know how things came to this, all he knew was that he had been told to watch over the castle and that he was to make sure the girls did not follow Ichigo, quite tough when they were determined to follow him almost anywhere.

The only way he had managed to stop them was by telling them that Ichigo had left him in charged and asked them to listen to Renji as he was the big brother when Ichigo was not there, although grudgingly, the girls accepted these terms and were currently sitting on the armrests of the chair in which Renji sat, with their arms crossed.

"Why'd we have to sit here anyway?" Sachi whined as she stood up and walked forward, her body tense showing her immense discomfort and great irritation at the current situation. Her sister stayed on the throne next to the only other person she had ever seen with red hair such as hers.

"I don't know, all I know is what you know, Ichigo-sama asked us to stay here and that Renji would be the one that looked after us" Kyota answered as she indicated the red head beside her who had a look of indifference, honestly, put him in this situation a few years ago and he'd be worrying about his life, yet after his time with Ichigo and the girls he knew Arrancar to be more appealing that before.

"Look I can tell that neither of you are completely happy with the set-up and to be honest it was kind of thrown at me too but can I ask that you do this for Ichigo at the very least?" Renji asked as he tried not to sound desperate but at the same time trying to sound firm and sure of the words that he had spoken. Both of the girls turned to look at the calm face of the Shinigami.

"Who are you to ask such a thing of us Shinigami!" Kyota asked, feeling her anger rising at the tone he had tried to strike with them, it sounded almost condescending, like they would do everything and anything that Ichigo told them. Well they were free spirits and could do as they pleased; after all, they were Arrancar.

Renji was taken aback by the sudden display of aggressiveness towards him. As far as he could tell he had done nothing to bring such an angry response and from his previous watching's, the girls were not often seen as angry at all. Then again Ichigo had been there much of the time and Renji figured that the girls either felt unsafe without him there or only behaved while in his presence, while it may make them sound like children, it was not an impossible idea.

"I do not think I am anyone, I am simply asking that we get along until Ichigo returns, I mean no disrespect when I speak, if that is the problem here?" Renji asked as he raised his eyebrow in question to Kyota who seemed to be the one who was the most aggravated by him.

"I will not listen to a Shinigami who is weaker than me" Kyota answered rather snobbily for her and even Sachi was somewhat surprised in the manner that her sister was approaching this situation, she had not seen Kyota act like this for a long time, in fact the last time was when they had first met Ichigo, Kyota simply refused any of his help.

"How do you know that I am weaker than you?" Renji asked after he had sighed at the Arrancar's words, he really did not want to have to do anything he might regret to the girls, Ichigo would have his balls. Although he felt it a responsibility to his friend there was also the fear behind the power Ichigo held, it was truly god-like.

"You are Shinigami, they are weaker than hollow, therefore you are weaker than I" Kyota answered back almost viciously while Sachi watched in mild interest as to why her sister was getting so heated up about all of this, it was simply really, listen to Renji till Ichigo got back, couldn't be that hard, right?

"The man who lead the entire Arrancar army at the Winter War was Aizen Sosuke, former Shinigami captain, your logic has been refuted" Renji answered back calmly as he sat back down into the seat that he was currently residing within. He closed his eyes and focused on her spiritual pressure and waited for the inevitable. He did not have to wait long as a Zanpaktou whistled above his head. He moved his head slightly to the left and then opened his eyes as the sound of metal embedding in stone could be heard.

Renji looked directly into Kyota's blue eyes and stood up slowly, Kyota still stood a few centimetres away from him as her weapon was not so much a katana, but a naginata. The shaft was of intricate white design, moving onto the wooden area that held the blade itself, this was shining brightly with golden energies running just below the surface of the wood. Finally the blade itself which was embedded within the stone throne. From what little Renji could see of it, it was an obsidian black colour and had intricate designs of red running all over its surface.

"If this will prove to you that I am strong enough then so be it" Renji said to her as he grabbed onto the shaft of her naginata and yanked it out of the stone throne. After pulling it out he held it in the air, effectively lifting her off of the ground and stared right into her eyes with his own betraying nothing of his emotions.

"Let us begin then, but to another place, I don't wanna destroy this room, Ichigo would kill me" Renji said as he walked away from the duo, towards the training grounds he had become accustomed to. Kyota and Sachi shared looks before following the red-head.

* * *

_**I warn you right now, there is implied rape in this scene so i shall put another notice much like this one at the end of the scene if you are squemish about these things, i apologise if you do not like the scene but it helps the story along.**_

It had been driving him wild ever since he had seen it. Ever since it had graced his eyes he had wanted it in every form he could think of, there was no end to the different ways he wanted it.

Her body, it had him enticed. He wanted to claim it, to ravage it, to pound it. He began to salivate at the very thought of it. This was the condition Volak found himself in as he went to the end of the hallway where his greatest desire laid waiting for him. He was going to do what he wanted to that body and he was going to enjoy it to the greatest extent.

Walking down the hallway that was only lit by the orange glow of the fiery pillars Volak could literally feel his pants get tighter as his anticipation was reaching its peak now; he was surely inn for some fun. Coming upon the door Volak took a deep breath and waited. Every other time he had tried to gain access there had been a white skinned pain in the arse by the name of Ulquiorra that barred him entry into the room; it really was becoming a nuisance.

After he waited for a few moments and there was no visible sign of the warden to the humans room he took another deep breath and opened the door.

There before him was the greatest marvel he had ever laid eyes on. Lying on the bed she was clear to be seen the only things destroying the perfect view of her body being the clothing she still had on. He moved over to her bedside in order to get a better look at her, her orange bangs were covering her face slightly but even despite that he could see her peaceful expression as she slept under his looming figure.

It was like there was an angel right there with him and that only made him smile even more, to think that there was an angel this very close to a demon that wanted to do so many sacrilegious things to her body only made him squirm in delight. It was like eating forbidden fruit, the excitement of being caught getting him excited too.

The woman squirmed underneath him and he could see her face contort in discomfort, her hand moved over to where her heart was and she held onto the area tightly, pulling the fabric of her clothing tighter around her body and allowing Volak to see more of her glory. She had been given clothing while in the realm of hell. She wore a kimono of red colour, full body sized. Yet as she had gripped at the fabric it was pulled tighter across her body and Volak felt his mouth fill up with drool.

He could not take it any longer and lunged forward. He grabbed onto her arm, not his first target as when he had made to catch her, she turned over and instead he was sadly only able to get a handful of her shoulder. He did however snake his hand down her front until he caught her breast and squeezed it roughly. The woman below him let loose a gasp of pain, he felt his pants get even tighter until he felt an excruciating pain running from his wrist all the way up his arm.

It was then that he looked and found that he was actually down one hand. His hand had been cut off at the wrist but upon closer inspection he found that his wrist was not bleeding as if it had been cut. But the wound was fine; it was almost as if a hand had never been in the space where his wrist was. The area was healed over and looked almost natural, no mutations at all. It did not matter as his hand grew out of the stump, due to his healing ability.

He looked to the form of the woman again, this time in silent fury to find that she was just as she had been moments before. What he had missed however was the orange glow that was slowly fading away below her back. In his anger he grabbed at her shoulder again and ripped at the fabric, causing it to come away and woke up the woman in the process.

Orihime woke to find that the demon who had been giving her disgusting looks when she had been brought in here was ripping at her clothes. In instant fear Orihime let loose a bloodcurdling scream that surprised the demon and caused his fist to be ploughed right into Orihime's face. Orihime felt the full force of that impact and her head hit the bed again as it was not meant to take blows anything like that.

The next thing she knew was that her head was spinning and that there was a warm breath right next to her ear that sent chills down her spine, and in no way the good kind. "Shut up, and let's enjoy this" came the sinister voice of the man behind her. She could not believe it, she had been captured once again and not only that but she was going to be raped. Her tears finally fell free and true at that one moment and time. Her world came crashing down.

The man re-began his tearing up of her clothing and she pitifully tried to stop him only to have her hands batted away by his superior one. She was close to giving up and accepting her fate when he did not seem to be stopping, her hell was being realised. The greatest fear anyone can have is the fear of rape and Orihime's mind was close to shutting down to save her the trauma.

The demon who had felt such a rush when he had hit the woman decided upon repeating the action to see if it would excite him anymore. With a crack at her face once again he felt a wave of pleasure running up his arm to the rest of his body and shook from it. Orihime's head was once again smashed into the bed once again, her only lifeline she was lucky to have was her strong skull, but even then it was still hard going on her head.

Volak had to resist the urge to laugh as he felt the unbridled pleasure coursing through his body. He could see that Orihime was barely conscious and decided he had better be quick if he wanted to have as much fun as he possibly could. Shifting her so that her legs were on either side of his waist he started fumbling with his red pants, he also managed to move the kimono somewhat up Orihime's legs before returning to the difficult task of removing his pants.

Orihime was softly whimpering below him and his grin grew even more maniacal. This was the greatest turn on to him, added this and the thought of getting caught and he loved this. As his pants dropped to the ground he grinned again and started trying to get rid of the fabric covering his desired area. It was at that time that Orihime seemed to regain some of her senses and screamed out loud again, Volak felt his heart jump into his throat and in that instant drew his fist back and prepared to fire it right into her face again, to both shut her up and give him even greater pleasure.

His fist primed, Volak brought it forward at great momentum. Orihime raised her arms in order to try and fend off the blow but she needn't have bothered. A venomous spiritual pressure blasted through the room and at that moment Volak's shooting fist was stopped by an alabaster hand that gripped around his wrist.

_**The scene is over as of now I promise you **_

_**And again i aplogise if you do not like this scene but like I said it will help the story progress along and makes circumstances, when they come about, much more dramatic.**_

Volak looked over to where he expected an expressionless face to be met with his own. Only it wasn't expressionless, if anything it was furious. Those emerald orbs held hatred and anger beyond compare, there were some demons of both hatred and anger that paled in comparison to this man's.

"Would you mind explaining to me why you are in here? _Volak_" Ulquiorra asked as a dense layer of spiritual pressure coated the room, making Volak drop Orihime's leg down and allowed the girl to escape while she pulled the kimono down over her feet and then curled up into the foetal position. Volak saw this movement and smirked, he was not done yet.

"Why I was just going to have a good time with Orihime-Chan here" Volak answered almost innocently as Orihime scrunched up her face in distaste and fear and downright disgust at the way he talked about the act he almost committed. But she was confused as well as scared, Ulquiorra, the man she always thought did not care much for her, was furious right now, not something he ever used to do before.

"Are you stupid Volak, do you realise what will happen when a certain man finds out about this?" Ulquiorra asked strenuously, Orihime could feel that he was holding back so much, it was not like before when he seemed to be an empty shell. Now he seemed to be full of emotions he tried desperately to hold in. Volak was however not perturbed by the manner in which Ulquiorra was addressing him, he loved to fight and this new Ulquiorra that seemed to be furious might just give him the fight that he would love. He laughed out loud as to what Ulquiorra was saying.

"You think that I am afraid of Kovasuke! He is but a demon who thinks he is at the Greater Demon standard! He has nothing to back him up!" Volak shouted in fury as he moved away from the bedside that Orihime was still curling into the foetal position on. Ulquiorra looked to the man before him that was so suddenly angry. He found it amusing that Volak had instantly assumed that he meant Kovasuke.

"No, it is not Kovasuke that I speak of, I speak of one far more powerful than he, I speak of Kurosaki" Ulquiorra said and watched as Orihime's head raised at the mention of that man's name. "He is the reason that I am in this place and he killed me for simply keeping him from her, if you were to cause such sacrelidge to her body I do believe that you would not be reborn in any realm" Ulquiorra said before a chuckle escaped his lips and Volak looked at him in anger.

"What's so funny!" Volak yelled while Ulquiorra looked to him with his hate filled eyes. Ulquiorra reached to his left side with his right hand.

"Well, I am able to show this woman my gratitude for caring about me before death, but also since she is under my jurisdiction and you just about raped her…" Ulquiorra said as he drew out his Zanpaktou and pointed it at Volak. "… then that means I can beat you as hard as I please" Ulquiorra said before charging spiritual pressure to the tip of his blade and sending off a fiery cero in a fine line towards Volak's position.

* * *

Ichigo emerged through the other end of the Garganta walking. Without even breaking his stride he lifted his right hand and gathered spiritual pressure. He soon released it and the cero blast forced through the outer wall of Soul Society, the dust soon settled and showed a sizable gap in the wall. Ichigo walked towards the gap in the wall and was soon joined by his Arrancar comrades and Tatsuki on the other side. He smiled softly at the fact Tatsuki was there before he turned to them side on.

"Now we attack Soul Society and find Orihime" Ichigo declared as he raised his fist into the air. With this action the Arrancar all yelled in approval before all took off peeling into Soul Society, they all had an idea what Orihime looked like and set out, splitting up to find her. Ichigo then found himself alone where he stood and smiled.

"Soon Orihime, we shall be together, safe and sound, with no worries in the world, not even Hell itself could stop me from seeing this through" Ichigo said to himself before he too tore through the gap in the outer wall.

* * *

_Well here we go I have set up a fight to be resolved next chapter, and have basically had Ichigo and his close allies invade Soul Society, I know you will be wondering why I done this but that's part of the story and you gotta wait to find out ;) anyway I hope you enjoy this somewhat long chapter and I shall see you in the next chapter of whatever I write =] - Varrukh_


	22. Chapter 22 Battle Royale Begins

Volak had barely managed to dodge the attack that had come his way. Although it may have looked small and insignificant, that ability that Ulquiorra had just used was one of his best. It held the same destructive power of the hollow cero ability, but shaped it into a much finer form and could literally cut through most of everything. So when Volak had seen it coming for his face he knew the possible outcome, and it did not seem favourable to him anyway.

As such he was currently down on one knee panting, both through exertion at such a split second movement and through the undeniable level of fear coursing through his veins. He would never admit this to anyone who would listen, but Ulquiorra had some aura about him that just dared others to challenge him.

To those that took up such a ludicrously stupid position and dared challenge him they were met with nothing more than an emotionless glare and a monstrous rise in spiritual pressure. It was often enough all that was needed to quell most demons, no matter what kind they were, it was even sometimes enough to stop some of the greater demons in their tracks, although not all classes it had to be known.

Sometimes there were just some demons of war, hatred or even lust strangely enough that wished to fight him. Those of war wished only for the strong opponent that Ulquiorra promised with his very existence. Those of hatred, as could be expected held great levels of hatred towards most everything, but their scorn found Ulquiorra because of his emotionlessness, because they could never tempt him to give in to his temper if they could even prove it existed (even though it was shown just there – Volak thought) and it infuriated them, thus he earned their scorn.

The demons or indeed demoness' of lust were those who had whole levels of scorn held for the alabaster man. They were able to woo many demons, those of any possible caste or system, they could woo them. The ones they usually found difficulty with were the greater demons of most castes, yet the greater demons of lust could take care of them. Ulquiorra put a wrench in their works, his apparent Nihilism meant that he was unbreakable, none of their tricks could work on him and because of their huge level of vanity their hatred of his actions towards them, only increased the more they tried and failed.

Those were the demons most likely to try and fight Ulquiorra, yet they never even managed to find the courage or the gall to do such actions. Maybe it was because too little was known about him, or maybe it was simply that he was visibly supressing much of his strength, any reason it may have been, none of the patrons of hell wished to be the first to taste the steel of Ulquiorra's blade.

"What do you mean by that Ulquiorra?" Volak asked almost panicked, and rightly so, he was not a demon of any caste ready to fight him, if anything he was one without a caste, a disgrace amongst demons. The only reason he even had any place in that dimension was because of Kovasuke, so much for gratitude.

"What do I want? I want nothing that you can give me Volak, I want nothing more than you to accept your fate" Ulquiorra said simply, with his usual expressionless mask moving across his face. Volak looked to his eyes yet again, finding them still brimming with fury.

"I refuse to accept anything!" Volak countered in a final ditch attempt at defiance. He noticed that in his current position he was closer to the woman that Ulquiorra was. Reaching out to grab at her closest leg Volak did not know when it happened but he felt his bicep. Looking to his arm he could see the alabaster blade piercing right through his skin and protruding out the other side of his arm. Feeling his blood boil Volak gave in to the base urges of himself.

"So you do realise the futility of your situation" Ulquiorra said almost calculatedly looking upwards. Standing taller than he was a large beast covered entirely in scales. It looked like a bipedal lizard of sorts. His head was shaped like a komodo dragon and had the saliva dripping out. His body was long and slim, leading eventually to an equally long tail. He had forearms at the same length as they had already been, only now covered in scales and shined with the dull light of the flames in the room. His hind legs had however grown larger due to muscle mass increase. All across his back were long thick plates that looked to be serrated.

Volak hissed at Ulquiorra before it lunged at him with its mouth wide open, the hiss still continuing as it done so. Ulquiorra effortlessly leapt over the beast that had once looked like a man. Upon his descent he would have caught himself on one of the spines had he not crossed his sword with it and essentially batted it out of his path, the spine ripped out of the creatures back and it screamed in agony. Ulquiorra landed on the ground softly in front of Orihime, seemingly unperturbed by what he had just so casually done, his breathing had not even altered at all.

* * *

All the while Orihime had watched in silence and admittedly fear, which was understandable due to the fact that a demon took full form in front of her, added to the fact that same thing had tried to commit a heinous act not a few moments ago, she was definitely afraid. The way that Ulquiorra had landed in front of her had the most confused by the situation. He stood just as one before him had done before and it seemed so out of place for Ulquiorra. Despite the creature flailing around wildly in the background Ulquiorra diverted his attention from the creature and to her.

"Are you okay woman?" Ulquiorra asked as his hard eyes looked deeply at her, almost as if they did not see her but her very soul, like he was not looking to her eyes but what lay behind those doorways to her soul. She could not form a response, how could she? Her face hurt badly and she could already feel the places where the swelling was taking place, and it was definitely extensive damage she had sustained. Instead she had to simply nod her head from her position. Ulquiorra's expression if possible, softened.

"Are you sure?" Ulquiorra asked softly, in a way freaking out Orihime but also comforting her at the same time. His face seemed to gain emotion too as a small ghost of a smile graced his features. It was not something he done much, but he could not help himself however, despite her condition she wanted to assure all that she was fine, even one who had once been an enemy. He could not allow his gaze to linger on her for too long as the hissing of Volak caught his attention again.

* * *

He turned quickly in order to lodge his hands between the jaws of the creature above him. His hands held open the mouth of the demon and it continued to hiss at him as he done so. Grabbing on tightly to his holding points Ulquiorra lifted the beast from the ground, despite its attempts at staying grounded and spun around, with it still in his grip. With a roar Ulquiorra released his grip on the jaws and sent the creature flying into the wall opposite both he and Orihime, keeping the beast away from her for at least another few moments. His attention was instantly back upon her.

She had never seen his eyes so intense before, they held emotions she had never knew he could even show. They held anger, they held scorn, they held hate but most of all they held guilt. Not something she would have expected him of all people to ever feel but it was there, Ulquiorra was guilty of something and it had to do with her. She couldn't even say anything if she had wanted to, her face hurt too much and she was far too scared to even bother, so as had become customary since she had her dream about her Shun Shun Rikka leaving her, she curled up into a ball and gave up upon her life.

Ulquiorra watched the scene with a mixture of anger and sadness, she had been through too much it appeared, he did not know everything but he had a feeling some of it had to do with where she was currently. Anyone would probably feel the same way as her had they been in the same predicament. With this affirmed in his mind Ulquiorra turned back to his opponent with his sword out, the creature picked itself off of the ground and once again hissed at Ulquiorra, this time the tail wisped around angrily behind him. With a quick flick there were two inch long spikes protruding out of the tail of Volak.

"Pulling out all stops are we Volak?" Ulquiorra asked almost amused as he pointed his sword towards the beast. "Let's see how far your True Form will get you shall we?" Ulquiorra asked as Volak charged at him this time roaring loudly in anger.

* * *

_**Soul Society**_

_**10**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

Things were going very slowly today, or so he thought to himself. The absence of his lieutenant had left him with the usual workload of his own and even hers to do as well; needless to say Toshiro was not a happy camper at that specific moment and time. With a heavy sigh he finished off the mountain of paperwork that his lieutenant was supposed to do, but never usually done.

Looking around his office that was rather quiet and bare due to the absence of said lazy woman, he could not deny to himself the level of sadness that waved over him due to that bareness. Sometimes it was funny when she would complain at the way she had to work. He smiled somewhat as he recalled these memories. That was until a member of his squad ran into his office in evident fear.

"T..t… taicho!" the man screamed as he ran into the office, Toshiro instantly took in his horrified expression as a sign that something bad had surely happened. As quick as he could he was over by his subordinate who had fallen to his knees by then.

"What is it?" he asked urgently, trying not to let his voice betray his worry, of course he cared about his squad, but favouritism amongst them was never an easy thing to deal with. The man however looked up at him with a mixture of fear and astonishment.

"Arrancar! There are Arrancar in Soul Society!" the Shinigami screamed as he grabbed onto the front of Toshiro's robes, staring desperately into his captain's eyes. Toshiro could only stare at the man for a second. There was no way, no possible way! Aizen was dead and with him had gone the Hogyoku, there was no way that Arrancar could be produced, even if they were it was only meant to be sparingly.

"Are you sure?" Toshiro asked firmly to the other man who nodded his head before bowing it again. "There are at least eight beings that are currently attacking, all of them are Arrancar" the Shinigami said to Toshiro with determination in his voice, if only to affirm his own knowledge.

* * *

Toshiro had to leave right there and then, he had to find out for himself. There was just no way, no feasible way that there were Arrancar within Soul Society. He burst through the main doors of his barraks and was met with deep laughter, turning around instantly Toshiro found its source. There above the gateway into his barracks was an Arrancar male. He had short silver hair, and toshiro could barely make out the glint of sapphire eyes. His clothing consisted of a white coat that was sleevless and had entrails that reached down to the ground. Alongside plain white pants he was propped up against one of the pillars to the gateway, one leg raised and resting aginst the pillar.

"Greetings Captain-san! Such a beautiful night you have here in Soul Society!" the man said to him almost casually, it seemed so disarming and calm that Toshiro may have been able to see him as a comrade or even friend. There was however that feeling in the back of his mind that nagged at him and told him that there was no reason to trust the newcomer, appearance being the great giveaway.

"What are you doing here Arrancar?" Toshiro asked plainly to which the Arrancar held his hand over his chest and looked to Toshiro pouting.

"Captain-san! Well I am hurt, what gave me away?" he asked with a grin spreading across his features. "Was it my clothes? Maybe my multiple scars?…" the Arrancar asked before his grin grew even larger. Pointing his finger towards Toshiro and laughed. "Or maybe…" he began as the very air itself took a tangible form, Toshiro felt the spiritual pressure rise and could discern it instantly, it was hollow by nature, completely ridden full with hatred and anger and excitement. There was no doubt; this man was definitely of hollow origin.

"So you are an Arrancar" Toshiro said mostly to himself but was heard nonetheless and received an answer from his enemy. The Arrancar laughed lightly before saying anything.

"You thought I could be anything else? I forgive you for being a bit sceptical, but for downright not believing in your own assumptions, well that's just not nice" the Arrancar said as he once again smiled at the young captain. The Arrancar finally retracted his finger and let his arm fall at his side before he said anything more. "What is your name Captain-san?" the Arrancar asked inquisitively, Toshiro, not knowing any real reason not to tell his enemy his name conceded.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, tenth division Captain" Toshiro answered almost robotically, he was getting far too used to having to say his name before every fight. He missed the times where it was simply a weak hollow and a simple slash was all that was needed to win a fight. Now everyone he had to fight just had to know his name.

"My name is Zakabe, King of Hueco Mundo, nice to make your acquaintance" the Arrancar replied to him, which left Toshiro staring vacantly at the Arrancar before him. Things just seemed to be getting better and better didn't they?

Zakabe cracked his neck to the left and then the right; he then cracked his knuckles before he gazed directly at Toshiro again. "Now tell me Hitsugaya-Kun, would you prefer to fight here or take it elsewhere?" Zakabe asked the young man before him, confusing Toshiro greatly, why would an Arrancar care too much about his battlefield, much less his opponent's choice of battlefield. Although maybe his self-proclaimed title of king of Hueco Mundo was getting to his head.

"What do you mean would I like to take it elsewhere?" Toshiro asked suspiciously as Zakabe only grinned at him before he simply smiled and actually gave a reply.

"I realize that you have quite beautiful barracks there and I would hate to be the one to destroy some of that beauty, I know how much of a pain it is to clean up entire areas of rubble, my God makes quite the mess sometimes" Zakabe explained to which Toshiro raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"What do you mean by your 'God'?" Toshiro asked slowly, gaining yet another grin from the Arrancar, something he had not yet gotten used to seeing, that grin just seemed to promise him information he was not going to enjoy at all.

"That Captain-san is information not freely given, you will have to meet him yourself or beat me to find out, option one will be much easier" Zakabe finished as he finally became serious. He knelt down onto one knee and stared directly at Toshiro who instinctively reached for the hilt of his Zanpaktou. Zakabe jumped high into the air and descended towards the smaller captain quickly with his Zanpaktou primed.

Once Zakabe had landed on the ground in front of Toshiro he swiped outwards, his Zanpaktou only missing the ice captain due to the fact that he had leapt backwards at the last moment. The swish of the Zanpaktou cutting through the air was still enough to make Toshiro take notice and understand his current predicament. Zakabe was nowhere near finished with his quarry however and leapt upwards towards Toshiro's slowly descending form. With his Zanpaktou raised high over his head Zakabe then brought it down hard and had his strike stopped by his opponents Zanpaktou.

Toshiro could clearly see the face of his adversary, a scar run across his right eye from his forehead right down to his chin. Further down from there was the numerous scars that were criss-crossing his chest. Toshiro could see that this was not an Arrancar who was ready to shy away from fights and was definitely a high level hollow, even if he wasn't the king.

With a heavy grunt and a greater application of force Zakabe swiped and caused Toshiro to fall to the ground at an increased speed. Toshiro grunted through the sudden application of force on his body and the slight sting of pain it sent through his system. With a great deal of effort he was able to correct himself in the air; flipping upright Toshiro looked up and found his adversary plummeting towards him.

Zakabe swung his Zanpaktou in front of himself in a wide arc, collecting spiritual pressure into his blade until it glowed a dark colour, almost black. Toshiro watched this and leapt out of the way of the falling form of the Arrancar, sliding to a stop a few feet away. Breathing heavily he was just able to see to his horror what was coming his way. Zakabe had rebounded off of the wall on the ground and was rising quickly, with his dark coloured Zanpaktou he waved it before him and with the tell-tale sound, a dark green cero shot off towards him.

"KamiCero" Zakabe said quietly as the cero that had started off small grew in size to titanic proportions. Toshiro could hardly believe the size of the cero that was stampeding towards him, there was only one thing he could do against it with the hopes of surviving.

"Ban-kai!" Toshiro screamed out as the massive Cero tore into his form, creating a cataclysmic explosion in the sky.

* * *

_**11**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

As she leapt backwards dodging the slash of a Zanpaktou she lamented on the thought of how envious Zakabe would be of where she was currently. When they had come to the split way between the 10th and 11th Barracks they had a game of Jan-Ken-Po to determine who got to go to the 11th Barrack, she had won and he had to go to the 10th barracks. Currently she was loving the atmosphere around them all. Even though it was mainly men, not one of them were even in the slightest bit interested in her body, except for its battle prowess, admittedly, she loved that.

She stepped back avoiding the same Zanpaktou again before she backlashed at her adversary and dropped him to the ground. He did not stay down however and soon got up again and attacked her, despite the deep cut on his chest, this was just one of the lower levels of the squad too, she could not wait until she saw the vice-captain or even the captain of the barracks if she was lucky enough, he was supposed to be a good fighter.

The Shinigami once again moved to slice but as she leapt back, he stopped his swing and then stepped forward too, catching her by surprise. He then went to complete his slash but was unable to do so as she stopped his blade in its tracks. Not enjoying the fact she had almost been caught out Sera then punched the Shinigami in the face. He took the hit well before he then held his face in surprise. Off to the side Sera could hear the conversation of two of the squad.

"That woman is strong, she's almost like that Espada that fought Captain Hitsugaya" one said to the other. A man who was completely shaven, his head and all. He was a fairly tall and was clearly built to optimum level. Had Sera not been a hollow nor smitten already she would not deny the level of attractiveness he exuded simply by standing there. He had on a simple enough garb of the Shinigami and Sera guessed that despite his talk he was just a regular Shinigami, of no real power equal to vice-captain or captain level.

"Indeed, she is also one of those very rare creatures that are both beautiful and powerful, how I wish she was not an Arrancar, I would love to have been friends with her" the other man answered. He was much less built than his counterpart, but he did however make up for it with his more feminine beauty. For a squad of ruffians Sera found it curious that there was such a beautiful man amongst their ranks but paid no mind to it. She however felt some heat rising to her face, he was definitely not a novice to the appreciation game.

"Too bad I don't fight women, on you go Yumichika" the shaven headed man said as he slapped the back of Yumichika's shoulders and sent him forward a bit. With a tick mark appearing on his face Yumichika turned back to his lifelong frind and began shouting at him.

"What's that meant to mean! I don't exactly want to fight a woman either, it is not beautiful in any way and I refuse to do it!" Yumichika almost screamed and had most of their squad almost trying to clear their ears of the overly offensive sounds that they had just been subject to. Sera could not believe how casual the entire squad were being about her, and then the two's argument made sense to her.

"Hey! I thought you said I was strong, don't think just because I am a woman that I can't hold my own against you guys! I already held him back!" Sera cried indignantly as she pointed a thumb at the man she had sent crashing into the opposite wall, his legs still twitching every so often. Both men looked over and without any changes to their expressions were about to answer before being cut off by a much more gruff voice.

"You are definitely strong, if these two don't want to fight you then I will" the voice behind her sounded and instantly she turned to the direction the voice had come from. Standing almost two feet higher than her was the imposing figure of the 11th division Captain, Zaraki Kenpachi. The two men who had previously spoke about her strength were surrently looking towards their captain in fear. There was something about that look coming from his subordinates that made Sera question the character of this Zaraki.

"Very well, although my friend would probably have been a much better fighting opponent, he enjoys fighting much more than I" Sera admitted as the entire squad of the 11th division cleared enough space and left Zaraki and her enough space with which to manouvere. Zaraki wasted no time and drew out his Zanpaktou.

"If you got a stronger firend then fight me quickly so I can go on to fight with them" Zaraki said to her simply before she drew her own weapon with a smile on her face.

"Don't think that I will be that easy to beat Kenpachi-kun, after all I am by far the third strongest Arrancar in Soul Society right now" Sera answered without her smile ever once faltering. She drew upon a small handle that jutted out slightly from a ribbon tied around her dress, it was leathery in colour and when she pulled it out, revealed a whip that looked like it was made in a scaled design. Zaraki looked at the weapon incredulously for a second befre a smile crept up on his own face.

"Well, let's begin" Zaraki said before he leapt off of the ground and towards Sera who only smiled in return and prepared for the demon of Soul Society to make the first move.

* * *

_**2**__**nd**__** division Barracks**_

Soi Feng was not the head of the assassination squad in Soul Society just because she was capable of pulling off assassinations and able to hide herself perfectly. She was also very well capable of detecting when someone else was trying to use those very same methods. Supressing their spiritual pressure, walking so tantalizingly slowly and trying to keep their breathing steady, all of it hard enough to do, and also hard to try and pick out, well Soi Feng had it picked out.

Her head lifted slightly and she looked to the direction in which she had felt the slightest source of spiritual pressure. It was almost as if once she had found its source, it gave up on trying hiding itself and instantly allowed its spiritual pressure to be revealed. The power behind it was impressive indeed and Soi Feng guessed that it was definitely at about Adujchas level, if not about Vasto Lorde level of power, having fought one before she had an idea what their spiritual pressure felt like.

She was currently standing in a long almost corridor of buildings. With small patches of grass running along the side opf a pathway running centrally down the corridor of buildings. At the other end of the corridor was a form that had its head bowed slightly, jet black hair was floating at that second and Soi Feng knew that something was about to kick off. Just as she had predicted there was suddenly a blast of spiritual pressure and there was white lightning dancing all over the form of the other being.

To say that she was in shock could be viewed as an understatement, as the only ones she knew to have ever had a grasp on that ability were herself and her mentor Yoruichi. This intruder showed ability to use the skill, it was feasible that it had managed to come across it as a freak accident as can sometimes happen, but she doubted the chances of that, the only other person she felt might even have the slightest chance of knowing this ability was safely back in the human world at that moment and time and basically ruled her out too. So with renewed interest Soi Feng looked to the intruder, trying to distinguish just who knew the same ability as she and Yoruichi.

In the time Soi Feng had to blink her opponent had already crossed the area towards her. The only sign she had was when there was a lightning covered fist came crashing towards her face. Soi Feng was forced to blast out her own version of what this ability appeared to look like.

"Shunko" Soi Feng called out as her body was also covered in the energies of the lightning, she could see a smirk on the face that would have otherwise been shadowed by her hair. Soi Feng could only however make out the structure of her opponents face and if she was correct in her assumptions then her previous thoughts may be incorrect.

"Looks like you must be Soi Feng then" came the feminine voice of her opponent, Soi Feng watched as the fist that had only been stopped by the surge of the charge put off by Shunko slowly moved away from her face and went back to the side of the woman who had tried to attack her. The woman then whipped her head to the side in order to move her hair from her face and Soi Feng was able to look into the face of the only one to ever be 'taught' how to use the powers of Shunko.

"You! What are you doing here with those Arrancar?" Soi Feng almost literally spat at the young woman before her, the smile on her face did not vanish at all, it almost seemed to grow in size and malice.

"It is a matter of my own interests, I do not care what side of the line I am on, I will follow my heart" Tatsuki answered as she grinned back at Soi Feng. Needless to say the captain was somewhat surprised by the mnner in which the young woman was acting. No more than a year ago she had begged to be taught how to fight back against hollows and the like, and now here she was literally fighting for those she had trained to beat.

"We taught you how to use this ability for good! Not so that you could use it at your own will, why would you use it to help those you learned it to defeat?" Soi Feng screamed at the woman before her, finally losing her cool. Tatsuki looked into the eyes of the woman who was screaming at her and could see the fury in those eyes but could also see the hurt reflected in those orbs too. It was not a secret that Soi Feng had already been hurt by someone who had managed to get through her mental walls, now there was yet another just about to repeat the same thing.

"Because I fight for my heart, much has changed and I would not even be here if it was not for things that have happened" Tatsuki answered her simply before she moved into the fighting pose that she had been taught by Yoruichi. Soi Feng noticed this and through her layer of pride at her 'student' she also felt another subtle wave of pain in the fact that Yoruichi had taught Tatsuki a style that Soi Feng always lost to.

"What are you talking about?" Soi Feng asked as she too fell into her fighting position, drawing her Zanpaktou from her back. Tatsuki stared at her and her gaze went hard, Soi Feng noted this and knew that something painful was about to happen.

"How dare you lie like that! You know exactly why I'm here! It's the same reason I trained to get stronger!" Tatsuki screamed as she dove at Soi Feng with her hand ready to pierce through Soi Feng's chest, Soi Feng was quick enough to react and caught her hand. She then noticed the tears that were streaming down Tatsuki's face, despite her evident fury.

"You have Orihime! You took one of the things precious to me, I don't know why, I don't know when, but I do know that I will make you regret it!" Tatsuki screamed as she sent a surge of power to her Shunko and caused Soi Feng to be blown away from the sheer power behind the blast. Once she regained her footing some few feet away she looked back to the form of Tatsuki that was staring directly back at her.

Soi Feng noticed that there was no longer lightning dancing across her body but that there were white hot flames that were coursing over most of her body. Flames were most prominent on her arms as they went from her shoulders to her hands where they culminated and made orbs of pure fire. All around her there was an aura of anger and fury.

"I won't let you have her! I won't lose Orihime! And sure as hell will not appear weak to 'that' man!" Tatsuki screamed out before she jumped into the air and done a somersault, landing in front of Soi Feng and sending her fist crashing towards Soi Feng who was only able to deflect it by hitting her forearm mere milliseconds before it was able to connect with ny other part of her body. When Soi Feng inspected her hand she found it lightly burned. Looking up again she could see the contorted features of the young woman in front of her and knew that this was not going to be settled without a fight.

* * *

_**8**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

"Hey Ukitake, do you feel that less than appreciative spiritual pressure that's getting closer?" Kyoraku asked his friend who sat opposite him at is little table in the room. Both were in the process of drinking some sake when they felt the forces acting against the wall of Soul Society and had already figured out what was happening. From cross the table Jushiro nodded his head in agreement.

"It seems as if we have company, and not a nice bunch of people they seem to be" Jushiro answered as Kyoraku nodded his head before reaching up for his straw hat. Taking it off he dusted it lightly before letting loose a heavy sigh before looking up at his friend again.

"You think that we should get ready for their arrival?" Kyoraku asked while Jushiro looked to him with a look of great distaste at the current situation. Nevertheless he nodded his head and both of them got to their feet. Moving across the room to the door and then opening it, revealing a Japanese style garden. Currently inhabiting the garden was four beings garbed in Arrancar clothing.

"Ah, Jushiro, look, there's too many of them, this won't be very easy" Kyoraku concluded as he tipped his straw hat towards the female Arrancar amongst the four. There were no clear indications that it had any effect on any of the Arrancar really. Instead they all staid in their positions simply analysing their opponents.

"Don't like these guys, they seem to be smarter and actually trying to think of a way to beat us Ukitake, this isn't fair, what happened to the other guys?" Kyoraku whined while Jushiro tried his best not to laugh, mostly not to give Kyoraku the pleasure and the situation really did demand his full serious attention.

"We evolved under a stronger leader" was a simple reply that Kyoraku reciecved from one of the women in the group. He looked to the one that had spoken. Her hair was a golden colour and her face was definitely one of a definitive beauty. However at her side was what looked like a club or morning star of sorts. Her clothing actually consisted of three quarter length pants and a shirt that had sleeves only reaching to her elbows.

"How is that even possible? I thought after Aizen died then there would be no more Arrancar?" Jushiro asked this time, surprised that they could almost have a 'civilised' conversation with these beings that had previously been more akin to animals. One of the males took point this time as he walked forward and pulled the sleeve of his jacket up over his arm and revealed two marks. One was a slash that ran across his wrist and showed signs of having to be repaired. The other was a tattoo this time, it was just one word, Nakama.

"After Aizen there was a tyrant that took his place, we had no hope with such a creature in power, but there was hope in one pair of Arrancar who were viewed as fair. The tyrant and one of the pair had an argument and ended with one of their deaths, the remaining Arrancar almost killed the tyrant, but he held back until recently. We follow that man, the one that showed us to believe in our Nakama and fight for all our worth for them, we fight for Zakabe-Sama, The King of Hueco Mundo" the Arrancar finished as he rolled his sleeve back down his arm and looked around his comrades who all nodded.

"I know this will be hard to believe but amongst us, you are the most respected of the captains, this is not a means to amend for our future actions but just so that you are aware" the same male Arrancar finished as he attempted to smile at the pair of captains who found the behaviour odd. "Unfortunatley, Zakabe-sama requested the most battle ready of all Arrancar within Las Noches and we stand before you, we wish you luck on our fight!" the Arrancar finished as he then reached to his left and pulled out a katana. The Arrancar to his left pulled an axe from his back and the third male pulled out a pair of knuckledusters from his pockets. The female pulled her morning star from her waist holster.

"May we at least know why it is that you are attacking us?" Kyoraku asked inquisitively as he pulled out his wazakashi and katana. Jushiro also pulled out his Zanpaktou and prepared to release it whenever he had to. The firstarrancar decided to grace them with an answer.

"We are here to retrieve a woman by the name of Orihime Inoue, our master was most angry when he thought that you might have her" the Arrancar answered as the captains were left to wonder why someone would think they would kidnap that woman, if anything they wanted to keep out of human affairs and also preferred not to piss off the man that had helped them so much with Aizen, even if he was technically dead, they still done it out of respect.

"I guess it would be pointless if we were to say she was not here?" Kyoraku asked jokingly as the lead Arrancar of the four looked back at him with a strained smile.

"Indeed, we said that we respected you, that does not mean we would not suspect you of lying, I apologise but we do need to fight you and search the entirety of Soul Society" the Arrancar answered, honestly sounding apologetic. And none of the Arrancar around him seemed to be disagreeing; all of them seemed equally apologetic about what they had to do, surprising both of the senior captains greatly. To see such reactions and emotions from those who had once been barbaric enemies was somewhat daunting.

"Well Ukitake, it looks like we have to fight before the night is out, and here I was thinking we might have a quiet night for once" Kyoraku joked lightly to which Jushiro lightly chuckled.

"Yes, it appears as though we will have our hands full this evening" Jushiro answered his oldest friend before they moved back to back and stared at the four Arrancar opposing them. The lead one came forward first.

"Again I do apologise but these are my duties and I must carry them out, I will try my hardest not to kill either of you" the lead Arrancar said as he used Sonido and brought his Zanpaktou downwards, having Jushiro blocking it with his unreleased Zanpaktou. After that the other thrtee Arrancar began to move and converge upon the fight.

* * *

_**6**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

"It seems as though this confrontation was nothing but inevitable, wouldn't you say Kurosaki?" Byakuya asked simply as he turned on the spot and was watching Ichigo directly. Ichigo simply returned the stare with an equally cold stare at which Byakuya found himself slightly surprised by the vacant look in the young man's face.

"It would seem that way Kuchiki" Ichigo answered back casually and in a manner that Byakuya had to really think to whether his really was the man that had caused him so many problems only a few years ago. As he pondered further however he realised that the last time he had seen this man he was not quite so articulate with his words, more to the fact he was not very well composed at all really. He was his inner demons unleashed.

"What has happened Kurosaki, you are using honorifics now, have you finally come to realise that respect is something that should be given?" Byakuya asked coldy, if in the slightest bit sarcastic. Ichigo shifted his head to the left, moving his hair from his face and looked to Byakuya with an almost warm smile, catching the Shinigami by surprise.

"It may be a bit of that but also I came to respect you I guess, if it were not for these circumstances I would prefer not even fighting you" Ichigo admitted as he stood idly on the spot and could see the look of disbelief crossing over Byakuya's face, instantly covered up perfectly of course.

"Impressive words Kurosaki, spoken almost like a true leader, you have definitely been given plenty of time to think about how to speak" Byakuya chided the young man with an almost playful hint to his voice. Ichigo was about to retort before he felt the monstrous rise in spiritual pressure all over Soul Society, culmunationg in a massive dark green cero far off in the distance that took up a great portion of the sky. Everyone else was already fighting it seemed. With a sigh Ichigo turned to Byakuya.

"As little as I actually want to do this I think that both of us would agree that our fight is inevitable" Ichigo stated to the older man who nodded his head affirmatively. "Well we might as well get this started or else all of my subordinates will get all of the fun and it would do no good if they all have fun and I don't" Ichigo said playfully as he extended his right arm outwards.

_I'm glad you actually remember that we still exist_ the Hogyoku complained in his head as it became apparent that Ichigo was going to be using his powers in this fight. As the Hogyoku spoke however there was much bustle in the back of his mind which when Ichigo focused he could see his hollow and Zanpaktou fighting each other to get in front.

The crytsalized blade came into form in his hand and then vulcanised, making it an entirely solid piece of material. He waved the blade around lightly in his right hand before pointing it at Byakuya.

"I won't take our fight easily at all Kuchiki Byakuya, go at me with your fullest the entire time, you will die otherwise" Ichigo said as he brought his hand to cover his face. In his head Zangetsu gave up on his fight with Shiro.

**To hell with you Ichigo!** The Zanpaktou spirit called out in anger as he stalked off a little bit and fell to his knees, with a dark atmosphere surrounding him as he done it.

Haha, up yours Zangetsu… hey is he okay? Shiro began shouting but finished somewhat concerned as zangetsu had turned pale and fell onto the ground. The Hogyoku looked between the hollow spirit and the Zanpaktou spirit, a smile finding its way onto his face.

_I'm sure he will be fine_ the Hogyoku assured the hollow spirit as a warm smile came over his face, as both he and the hollow applied their power to their host.

Back with Ichigo he pulled down across his face, bringing out his horned mask and the level of spiritual pressure, skyrocketed. Byakuya simply looked at him, realizing that Ichigo was not kidding when he said that Byakuya would be better off going all out from the beginning. He affirmed his realization by dropping his Zanpaktou and adding in calmly. "Bankai" as his Zanpaktou disappeared into the ground and hundreds of larger ones appeared behind him, eventually disintegrating into thousands of pink petals.

* * *

_There we go I have ever so nicely set up six fights for your reading pleasure, to be written in the next few weeks, now I would like to know from you, my readers which fights you would like to see resolved first (besides the Ichigo vs Byakuya fight) as I will do them in the next few chapters, then go on to do the others in later ones. Anyway, as always drop a line of criticism if you please, if you like, hate or even don't care, it would be nice. As always R&R and I shall see you next chapter =] - Varrukh _


	23. Chapter 23 Unexpected Arrival

_**2**__**nd**__** Division Barracks**_

Lightning danced while flames spread. Two forces of such chaos and havoc being controlled and directed at each other could not help but bring about evident destruction; it was just within their nature, literally. One particularly strong blast of lightning and fire burst into the air of the corridor of buildings. From the resulting explosion two figures were forcibly expelled and sent a good few feet apart from each other. Where the explosion had formed there now was a large black crater, charred because of such high temperatures focused to such a degree then exploded outwards. There was even some lightning arcing in the crater with white flames not yet extinguished.

Both expelled figures landed on the ground and were sent even further away while their feet dragged along the potholed ground. There were plenty of other craters much like the one already created all around them. The two figures were covered in burning white flames and dancing white lightning respectively. Currently Soi Feng was breathing heavily. She was having a run for her money with her opponent. it did not help that she and Yoruichi had trained her opponent in the past so she knew Soi Feng's moves, but even so she was still a formidable opponent.

Tatsuki was standing with her hand on her hip as she stared at Soi Feng across their battle scarred ground. There was a smirk on her face, one that Soi Feng did not like the look of.

"Why?" Soi Feng asked, she still had not got the answer to her question. Why had she turned on them? Why was she fighting with the Arrancar? Creatures that she had begged to be trained to fight, wanted to fight because of the pain and misery that had been caused upon all of her friends.

"Why what?" Tatsuki asked slowly as she cocked her head to the side with her smirk still on her face. Surely Soi Feng was not that stupid. She had after all told Soi Feng why she was there and why she was fighting. To ignore such things was both insulting and not to mention careless.

"Why are you using such power against me?" Soi Feng asked honestly which threw Tatsuki. Soi Feng was not asking why she was using the powers to fight alongside the Arrancar, nor was she asking why she was fighting against the Soul Society. She was asking why Tatsuki was fighting against her, no-one else but her. And because of that Tatsuki could not answer. For Soi Feng to ask her something like that struck something in Tatsuki, just why was Soi Feng speaking like that? Yet as images of Orihime and Ichigo swam through her head her resolve hardened.

"I am not using this power against just you sensei, anyone who gets in my way will have to fight me, so don't take this personally" Tatsuki answered before she disappeared from where she was standing and appeared behind Soi Feng. Not one to be so suddenly surprised by her student's level of speed Soi Feng was able to see it with plenty of time and as such turned around quickly. She grabbed the foot that was coming crashing towards her face and did not even grimace as the flames coating all of Tatsuki's legs burned away at her hand.

"Then that means I have to use my power to stop you" Soi Feng finalized before she pushed Tatsuki away with a strong application of force, causing Tatsuki to backflip and then land on her feet again. Initially looking to her footing, Tatsuki then looked up at her sensei. No longer was there a look of apprehension on her features as she fought against her wayward student, she knew now that she would have to destroy what she had created.

* * *

Soi Feng lowered her head and thought about her next move. Shunko was out of the equation as whatever Tatsuki had managed to coat her body in through her spiritual pressure left Soi Feng injured any time that she was able to get close enough to touch her. So close range fighting was effectively out of the window unless she could beat Tatsuki quickly and avoid too much injury to her own body. Seeing no other alternative Soi Feng was forced to pull out one of her aces in the hole already.

"Sting All Enemies To Death, Suzemebachi" Soi Feng spoke softly as she pulled out her Zanpaktou and it morphed over her middle finger into a large claw in one fluent move. Bringing the claw in front of her face she looked to Tatsuki to see a somewhat happy smirk on her student's face. The flames that had danced all around Tatsuki slowly faded to nothing. Tatsuki then reached to her waist and pulled out a small dagger that was clasped to her clothing, it looked much like a basic dagger except the curved design in the blade on the blunt edge, other than that it was pretty unexceptional.

Soi Feng stared at the blade in wonderment, fearing that somehow her student had managed to acquire a Zanpaktou because of some strange anomaly, she had gave up trying to see any form of normalcy ever since Ichigo had stormed Soul Society with his friends all those years ago. As she concentrated on the blade however she found that there was no latent spiritual pressure coming from the blade, indicating to her that there was no form of spiritual being within the weapon.

"Looks like we are going to settle this fight with a battle of blades doesn't it?" Tatsuki asked tauntingly to the petite raven haired captain. Soi Feng just sighed before she gave her own response; this was nothing like the way she had wanted things to turn out.

"What do you have there, it is not a Zanpaktou from what I can tell, and it has no spiritual pressure of its own" Soi Feng stated as she pointed to the weapon within Tatsuki's hand. Tatsuki looked to her blade and threw it into the air, allowing it to spin before catching it again, this time however by the very tip of the blade. Soi Feng was impressed by her dexterity, but did prefer to have an explanation why she thought she could fight against a Zanpaktou with a mere soulless blade.

"You're right, it's not a Zanpaktou, I don't have latent Shinigami power or Arrancar power that gives me a Zanpaktou. I do however have this blade here which is completely empty of any spiritual pressure" Tatsuki answered as a smirk came to her face again, something so evil should not mar such a beautiful face were the thoughts running through the mind of Soi Feng.

"What I can do with an empty blade however is much more frightening than what you do when harmonising with your Zanpaktou. You must accept the form that your Zanpaktou takes whenever you reach a new level of release, me…" Tatsuki cut off as she lifted her dagger up to her own eye level and forced her spiritual pressure into it. From the handle the dagger's blade began to droop and melt and to Soi Feng's surprise the blade began to retract into the handle of the dagger. Once the blade had gone and all that was left was the handle Tatsuki let go of it.

"I can change the form of this simple dagger into anything I want, even as far as this!" Tatsuki yelled as she grabbed onto the handle before it could reach the ground. A surge of spiritual pressure surrounded her and blocked Soi Feng's view of her wayward student. As the spiritual pressure died down Soi Feng was able to see what Tatsuki was talking about. She now stood with a weapon Soi Feng had never seen nor heard of before.

Now in Tatsuki's hand was a shafted weapon, it looked like a substance akin to bone in her hand, it extended till it was as long as she was tall. At each end of the shaft however the obvious offensive objects upon the strange weapon Soi Feng had never seen before. At each end came out a scythe shaped blade, although both sides of the blade were sharp and ready to deal damage, the blade came out of the bone like shaft at opposite sides of the shaft, so as Tatsuki held it in her right hand at her side, the blade at the top protruded out to her right whereas the other one protruded out to the left at her feet.

"What the hell is that?" Soi Feng could not help but ask, never had she seen such a weapon before, the only thing that could even come close would have been Kazeshini. Tatsuki smiled at her old Sensei's level of confusion at her newfound ability.

"This is my answer to my inability to have a Zanpaktou or a Strong Arm of The Giant or a Seele Schneider. Everyone always had something in order to fight in close combat, to defend them with and also fight back with if need be. You helped me gain a greater control over my spiritual pressure, this is a result of that, I can take a soulless blade and morph it to whatever I want" Tatsuki said as she spun her double sided scythe.

"If I did not have to fight you I would have to say how proud I am of you Tatsuki, however, we both know that this is going to have to happen" Soi Feng admitted sadly to which Tatsuki nodded her own head sadly. In all honesty she had only come across Soi Feng by chance and had tried to hide to the best of her abilities, but Soi Feng was the better of the two at finding one who was supressing their spiritual pressure and she had been found.

"Yeah, let's get this started then" Tatsuki said as she leapt into the air as Soi Feng copied her movement.

* * *

Tatsuki slashed her weapon first aimed from her right side to catch Soi Feng in her left. Soi Feng spun around however and kicked the weapon in its shaft, causing its direction to be changed and once her spin was complete she went to dive in at Tatsuki with Suzemebachi, aiming a strike for directly in between Tatsuki's breasts. Tatsuki was too slow to notice her blunder and felt pain as the blade of Suzemebachi pierced her skin, leaving behind a black butterfly tattoo across the centre of her chest and moving onto her breasts.

Tatsuki looked at Soi Feng shocked for a second before she blasted out her version of Shunko, flames dancing all over her body and blasting Soi Feng away from her. Soi Feng looked down to her now burned hand in pain. That had taken her by surprise, and she really did hate being taken by surprise. It was that look of shock that had come over Tatsuki's face that had stopped her. For that one millisecond she felt guilt and was rendered powerless for that one millisecond. She berated herself within her mind for allowing her opponent to have been so close to her, but it was not her fault, the girl had managed to with the help of Yoruichi break down her barriers and make their places as her important people. That was why she could not beat Yoruichi and that was why she could not bear to face Tatsuki, it just hurt too much.

Tatsuki looked down at the black butterfly tattoo across her chest and after taking the time to realise it was not life threatening…yet, she then laughed softly before turning to Soi Feng with the flames dying down. She pointed to where the tattoo was on her chest and then spoke to her late sensei.

"You know Soi Feng- Sensei, if you really wanted me to get a tattoo like this before you could have always just said, I kinda like it" Tatsuki remarked coolly while Soi Feng stared at her in complete and utter disbelief. How could she act so calm! She knew what happened if Suzemebachi pierced an area of tattoo on her skin again. Soi Feng could not take it; one that she cared about was willing to throw her life away and for what? The belief that her friend was there in the soul Society, when they had not seen her since the winter war.

"What are you talking about! Why do you not care that if I hit you again, I can kill you!" Soi Feng screamed out in her evident fury and sorrow, just how that young woman could act in such a manner, it was beyond hurtful to Soi Feng to see a precious life wasted. Tatsuki simply turned to look at her, bringing with her gaze her strange weapon.

"I do care that you could kill me so easily, if anything I want to survive on and prove to 'that' man that I am strong enough to be compatible with his love. At the same time though, I will gladly die here if there is the slightest chance that I could save Orihime, my body is worthless if I cannot enjoy the presence of those two that I love! The man of my dreams and my sister! I will fight for them both!" Tatsuki yelled as she began to spin her weapon once again, the speed with which she spun the blade was so fast that Soi Feng could see that there were flames beginning to coat the blade.

Soi Feng prepared herself for whatever may come her way. The ring of fire was first on her mind and as such she did not notice that Tatsuki was also sprouting out the power of her Shunko. With a yell Tatsuki surged forward. Still spinning her weapon and now changing the hand with which she held it she swooped down low as she came near Soi Feng, bringing her weapon upwards she was blocked by Soi Feng's gauntleted arm. Forcing more on pushing upwards Tatsuki was able to life Soi Feng's arm high, with a flash of panic Soi Feng noticed that the other blade was now racing upwards, too slow was she to react and was cut upwards from her stomach to her left breast.

Grunting in pain Soi Feng leapt backwards to try and distance herself from her and Tatsuki. Once she had put enough space between herself and the flaming woman she was able to focus on her pain and how excruciating it in fact was. The blade had cut through her skin cleanly but because of the flames swirling all over it the cut had also burned but at the same time cauterized her wound. Effectively Tatsuki had dealt a strong blow to her opponent and healed them at the same time, whether that was part of the plan or not, Soi Feng was unsure, but she decided against trying to ask, knowing for a fact she would not find out.

* * *

Realizing she was fast running out of options Soi Feng knew there was no chance she could fight Tatsuki at close combat. She could not touch Tatsuki or else be attacked by Tatsuki's improvised defence. Avoiding that fact it was also painfully obvious that the weapon that Tatsuki wielded was much longer and therefore had a greater reach than her own Suzemebachi. That left her only really one option and it was not one she was particularly fond of, one because of what it was basically and two because it would leave a slim margin of survival.

"Bankai" Soi Feng spoke quietly as she was enveloped in her own and Suzemebachi's spiritual pressure, Tatsuki knew what was coming and could see that her old sensei was definitely taking the whole thing seriously now, she was using what she loathed in order to bring the battle to a decisive end. Once the spiritual pressure dissipated Tatsuki could see Soi Feng with her missile launcher Bankai form of her Zanpaktou. "Jakuho Raikoben" Soi Feng quietly intoned.

She leapt up into the air and took aim with her free hand. "Bakudo no. 30 Shitotsu Sansen" Soi Feng said quickly, creating a triangle of spiritual pressure with her hand. At each of the corners a spike of spiritual pressure formed and then shot towards Tatsuki, catching the young woman by surprise, their speed was quicker than anticipated and caught her in both shoulders while another went through her stomach. She expected pain to go through her as her stomach had been stabbed but found there to be no pain, then guessing that this was a means to hold her in place.

"Fire" Soi Feng quietly commanded as the missile done as instructed and blasted off towards the prone form of Tatsuki. Only now was it clear to her what was going to happen and it was not going to be going in her own favour. As the missle closed in on her Tatsuki done the only thing she could really do in such a situation she roared out her fury for the whole world to hear as she blasted out her spiritual pressure in an attempt to stop the missile from touching her, from inevitably destroying her. Soi Feng watched with sad eyes as Tatsuki's roar of defiance tore right through her, she turned away when she saw the missile close that last area and then blew up, undoubtedly taking Tatsuki with it.

Soi Feng did not even hear as the sound of air wisping sounded behind her and suddenly her bleary vision became completely black. Her body fell to the ground like a brick towards the bottom of water. Her body did not however hit the ground as it was saved in its decent and then placed gently upon the ground. Standing up from Soi Feng's prone form Tatsuki then released her spiritual pressure from the dagger. The form melted from its twin scythe shape until it had regained its original shape, that of a regular curved dagger.

"Sorry sensei, I know you always told me to kill my enemies without remorse, but I just can bring myself to kill you" Tatsuki said to the prone form of Soi Feng before she jumped upwards and then vanished in a flash of Shunpo.

* * *

_**Hell, Orihime's Quarters**_

The heat was suffocating, the power floating around the room was overpowering. It was by some freak luck that Orihime was even able to lift her body from her bed. The pain in her face was unbelievable, she could already without touching her face, feel where the skin was now swollen and pulling her skin tighter. She grimaced as she lifted her hand to touch her swollen face.

Her pain was completely miniscule in comparison to her fear at that time however. Her jailor and her would be rapist were fighting. Her horror of the travesty that had almost occurred to her body still had her shaking violently at the very thought of it. Then there was the man who was fighting against that beast. The man who had caused Orihime such pain during her time in Hueco Mundo, the same man who had killed the love of her life not once, but twice. She was so used to his cold demeanour that it was what she expected to feel when she watched him fight with the beast.

That was not the case however because as she watched the back of Ulquiorra she di not get chills, nor did she get any revulsion from looking at the man, if anything there was a degree of warmth emanating from his back. It was a comforting feeling that promised safety. Orihime did not know what was going on but was not going to argue with it, she felt safe. If only for a small while until she was once again set upon by another demon of this realm.

Ulquiorra was still standing where he had been when the beast began its murderous charge. Its mouth was hanging wide open as it released its rage induced roar. Ulquiorra did not even raise his sword as the beast closed in but did not take his gaze from the creature. As it reached him it made another lunge at him and twisted its head to the side. Just as it was about to close its maw around the form of Ulquiorra he made a quick movement and caught the beast with a swift uppercut, right into the right side of the upper jaw.

The beast was sent into the air where it squealed in pain and shook its head before it landed on its feet again and looked once again at Ulquiorra. It hissed at him venomously as it positioned its head low to the ground and opened out its arms, tail waving behind it dangerously as the tail spikes glinted in the red glow of the magma pillars in the room. Volak raised his head and looked to the ceiling, Ulquiorra could see his intention and leapt backwards. He grabbed the still prone form of Orihime from the bed and leapt to the side.

He was just in time as a massive beam of concentrated flames burst from Volak's mouth and incinerated the bed where Orihime had been laying not too long before, then continuing on to destroy the wall of her quarters too. Revealing the landscape of Hell. Spires of magma and screams of the defiled and heretical rose out from the areas below.

Ulquiorra looked down to the form of Orihime within his arms. Her body seemed to be fine, there were no obvious injuries to her person which he felt relieved at, he could also see her fearful eyes and although it did annoy him greatly, he could understand it. He had not exactly made the greatest of first impressions the first time they had ever met, nor had he made any improvements to his way of treating her. Putting all of that aside he tried to smile warmly down at her if only to reassure her he was different now.

"Worry not woman, I am here to help you now" Ulquiorra said to her in a soft voice while he still kept his eyes primed for any sudden movements amongst the dust and smoke kicked up from the beam of fire. Orihime looked up at him in confusion. "I already said that you cared about me before I died, I thank you for that, it opened my eyes. I will not allow you to be hurt any more than you already have been" Ulquiorra affirmed to both her and to himself as he could see the form of Volak shaking off rumble that had fallen onto him after using such a violent attack inside.

"I am going to move you to a safe place within these walls, this was never a good place to keep you, just stay still and you will not feel any discomfort" Ulquiorra said soothingly. He then brought his head closer to Orihime's, in all honesty she thought he was going to kiss her and worried very much so that he would in fact do just that. She was however spared this outcome as he instead just touched his forehead to her own.

* * *

Without speaking a word Orihime suddenly felt lighter than she had ever felt in her life before, it was almost like she was dead. Before she could get too comfortable however she was suddenly brought back to reality as her bodyweight returned and she landed upon a bed.

She looked around confused as she tried to piece together where exactly she was, she was in another quarters but this one was vastly different from her own. It was like her own room was vacant but this one was full. She could not quite put together what it was that gave this room a comforting feeling but she did not dare try and neglect the effects it had over her, she had since coming her given up on leading a normal life ever again. The man she had loved and knew would always come to her rescue had been pushed to the side. It was only now in these dire circumstances that she realised that she should never have acted as she had done towards him.

It was never his fault what happened to him. If anything it was all their faults. They had left him to take on the most powerful spiritual being in their existence on his own. And they had all expected him to walk away from it just fine as he had always done before, yet he hadn't. He had died and become a hollow. Then he showed up human again and Orihime was afraid of him because of the things that had happened when he was a hollow , he had tried to kill her twice at least, even though he was sure her name meant something to him, he could not recognise her face.

When he had returned as human though her hopes had exploded forth and she had never been so happy in all her life, except when Isshin had offered her place to live. It was when Matsumoto had went into such detail about the things Ichigo may have done as a hollow that Orihime had become so afraid of him, to think of him doing such things horrified her, he just did not seem like the kind of person to do things like that . she had seen him broken before he had left and it had hurt her too, it was only now that she wished she had him there with her, to hold her and tell her things would all be alright.

Despite what she may want she knew now that it was all her fault. Her friends had made the actions but it was because of her inability to defend herself , her inability to fight back. With that affirmed within her mind Orihime's looked up towards the ceiling of the room she was in and a gleam crossed over her eyes as she stared at the pure crystal that covered the entire ceiling. She was not going to wait for someone to come and rescue her; she was going to get out of here by herself. She was going to fight for her life, she was going to fight for her freedom, and she was going to fight for her love.

As if to affirm her thoughts a white beam of light shot from her hairpin and hit the crystal ceiling. It went on to reflect off of the crystal, light danced all around her as Orihime got to her feet. She stood just feet away from the bed before she then looked out of the window to the hellish landscape. "I will escape from here Ichigo, and when I do I will win back your love" Orihime said with finality.

* * *

"With her now in a safe place I guess we can both fight" Ulquiorra said to the beast that was still standing over him. The dust finally settled which showed the beast licking its lips at the prospect of eating the form of Ulquiorra. The beast spun around quickly and sent its spiked tail out towards Ulquiorra who acted quickly and raised his sword to stop one of the spikes from slashing across his chest. With a grunt he stopped the spikes from causing any damage to his body and then forced outwards causing the spikes to fly away from him.

The beast then spun around and tried to bite at him again, only to receive a kick right to the lower jaw which sent the creature flying into one of the magma pillars. The beast screamed in agony as the burning hot material burned away at its back, it shook all over the place as the pain in its back was excruciating and had Ulquiorra dodging the beast as it violently thrashed around the place. Eventually it was like the pain stopped hurting the creature as its movements slowed down and it once again settled its gaze upon Ulquiorra, evident rage brimming in its eyes. Behind it, the air itself became visible as in its fury it released a higher level of spiritual pressure.

Ulquiorra sighed as he realised now that the creature was probably going to destroy much of the room now. Preparing his sword he awaited the creature to charge at him full force. The creature done as expected and charged forward once again with its maw wide open in anticipation of the taste of Ulquiorra. However, just as Ulquiorra was about to dispatch the creature for the final time a tiny beam pierced through the area right between the creature's eyes. With that the creature fell to the ground.

Slowly the form of the beast melted away and revealed the form of Volak once again, the only difference being that he now had a small hole in between his eyes. Ulquiorra stared in surprise at the prone form of Volak on the floor and wondered who had killed him, it was not as if he was in any immediate trouble, he could have easily stopped the creature but he wished for the pain to go from the creature through to the actual Volak, before he then killed him. Looked like he would not get the chance.

"Why did you not dispatch him quickly?" Came a strong voice from in front of Ulquiorra and upon looking up he saw the form of Kovasuke standing there with his index finger pointed outwards, clearly where he had shot the super fine cero from. It was a question that demanded a question and Ulquiorra dutifully done as required.

"He tried to rape the one under my care, and I wished to make him regret it wholeheartedly before he died" Ulquiorra answered back emotionlessly. If Kovasuke could see through the emotionless mask Ulquiorra had managed to construct instantly he did not mention it at all.

"I see, and the girl? Is she safe? Is she still virginal?" Kovasuke asked, very interested all of a sudden to which Ulquiorra somewhat froze, but managed to regain himself before it would have become too obvious how uncomfortable such a question was. In all honesty however Ulquiorra had to give the answer that was the entire and utter truth.

"I do not know sir, I came in when he had her kimono all the way up her legs and he was doing something with his own" Ulquiorra said stoically as he inside felt sick at even the mere thought of such an act. And he used to be from a race where many might expect them to do such things; nope he hated even the mention of the word rape. Kovasuke looked to Ulquiorra and could not detect any signs of lies from the man, admittedly Ulquiorra was probably the only man that he would admit to trusting fully, he was blunt and honest with his words, that just meant that he would always speak the truth, and Kovasuke preferred allies that were honest with him.

"From what you are telling me believe that she is in fact still virginal which is good, if she were to be anything else then it would not help me in any way, where is she right now?" Kovasuke asked. Ulquiorra was sickened by the words that Kovasuke spoke but knew them to be true, in less than two months the time would be right for Kovasuke to enact his plan and it was not one Ulquiorra was too keen on.

"Currently she is in my quarter's sir" Ulquiorra answered honestly, to which Kovasuke initially raised his eyebrow but then let it drop again, whatever Ulquiorra had in plan for the woman would not impede upon his own plans so he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Very well, make sure that she is just ready for two months time is all" Kovaswuke said as he left the room and the smoldering form of Volak that was still in the centre of the room slowly melting though the floor, falling down to another level of hell.

"You will not get to follow through on your wish with Orihime, if her friends do not come to rescue her in plenty enough time then I shall personally break her out of here, I owe her that much" Ulquiorra said quietly to himself as he then vanished in a flash of flames towards his own quarters.

* * *

_**8**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

Kyoraku had just deflected a rather harsh club that was aimed right at his face by the beautiful female Arrancar and with his left blade slashed outwards and pushed her morning star away from him. With his other sword he swung around to try and cut across her stomach only to cut through thin air as he attempted to cut her. He let out a sigh as he missed her and watched her acrobatic manoeuvrability that allowed her to land on her feet in mid-air again without even the hint of a scratch on her body.

"Just why did you have to be such a beautiful lady?" Kyoraku complained as the female Arrancar at least had the decency to blush at the compliment. She was however unable to thank him for his kind words as behind him appeared the leader of their small group. He aimed his clenched fist at the back of Kyoraku and blasted off a blue cero straight at him. Kyoraku heard it too late to react but was saved just in time.

Jushiro had used Shunpo and appeared right behind him with his right Zanpaktou pointed towards the incoming cero. As it reached the blade it was suddenly sucked in and the blade glowed a beautiful blue colour until it spread to the three symbols along the wire connecting the two blades. Then moving onto the other blade that glowed too before expelling the cero that had originally been intended for Kyoraku back at the Arrancar.

The Arrancar easily dodged the incoming attack and looked upon his opponents again; the two captains complimented each other. When one was about to be attacked the other would defend him. It seemed to be working well for them because they were able to hold off four Arrancar at the same time despite it being the two of them.

"It seems that despite your situation you still find the time to flirt with ladies, do you have no concern for your own safety Kyoraku?" Ukitake asked straightforward to which Kyoraku looked to his long-time friends with sad eyes before he spoke.

"Have you seen that Arrancar? Why are all the beautiful ladies always the bad guys? This sucks!" Kyoraku complained as Ukitake simple shook his head with a small smile on his face. Then all of a sudden there was a murderous spiritual pressure acting down upon both of them, and it was by far not one they were unfamiliar with, truth be told it was probably the scariest spiritual pressure they had ever face besides Captain Commander's.

"Well Kyoraku, it was nice knowing you but now you're fucked" Ukitake said all too happily for Kyoraku's liking. He turned slowly to find the billowing white coat of a captain's haori. Looking up the form of the buxom lady he found his eyes finally latching onto the form of the scariest Shinigami in Soul Society, they had said they'd prefer to see Captain Commander's Bankai over her fury and they had not joked. Whenever Retsu Unohana was angry it was always best to, 1 not be the cause of her anger because you were really going to get hurt, and 2 get away as fast and as far as you possibly could because that was the only way you would ever be able to survive.

"Thanks, good to know you have my back here" Kyoraku said somewhat sarcastically as Ukitake simply patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. All of the Arrancar were at that moment and time caught in a mixture of fear and confusion. Fear because of the murderous spiritual pressure coming off the woman that had just entered the area, and then confused by the way that her allies were acting towards her.

"Any other time, any other opponent and I'd be the first one to come and help you, but you just picked a fight with the wrong person and not one I think I could even fight against" Ukitake admitted as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Kyoraku turned a questioning look to his friend as he asked him.

"You think if I sweeten her up she won't kill me just as quickly?" Kyoraku asked honestly as he raised his eyebrows to Ukitake who could only answer with a shrug of his shoulders. Ukitake then looked to the form of Unohana that was currently surrounded in a miasma of clear spiritual pressure.

"I would hurry if I were you though, she looks like she might kill me too, and I really don't want to be killed" Ukitake said softly as he turned and strolled towards the Arrancar. Said Arrancar looked at him confused.

"What are you doing captain-san, you do realise that we could kill you if you come over here?" the lead Arrancar asked as Ukitake lifted his head to the voice of the Arrancar before he laughed slightly.

"Yeah you probably could, but in contrast to what will happen to him, I really don't think anything you do to me will be all that too bad" Ukitake said as he pointed his thumb in the direction of where Kyoraku was getting beaten up quite savagely by Unohana, which caused many of the Arrancar to sweat drop. After a few moments Unohana seemed to have stopped beating up Kyoraku and he seemed to have gone completely limp.

"Now, what do we have here?" Asked Unohana gently as she looked over the four Arrancar before her. On her left side stood Ukitake who was giving her sideways glances, hoping she would not turn on him and try to murder him next. On her other side was the bruised form of Kyoraku who was breathing hard and wheezing until his features regained their normal shape.

"Unohana-hime, its not fair that you beat me up then heal me, it still hurts you know" Kyoraku complained to the woman beside him who smiled sweetly. Ukitake also smiled at the antics of his best friend and knew what Unohana was about to say too.

"That's the point you know?" both Ukitake and Unohana said in unison, causing Kyoraku to become quiet and start mumbling about his friends turning on him and whatnot.

"I see we have some Arrancar within our walls, I won't bother asking as I am sure I shall find out later" Unohana said as she prepared herself for the battle.

"Captain Unohana? I thought you did not take part in conflicts?" the lead Arrancar asked to which the venerable and beautiful captain then looked at him evenly. He swore he saw the gentle looke replaced with a sinister grin for the barest of seconds before it was replaced with her graceful smile again.

"While I do implore fighting in all of its forms, due to the weak state of our Captain Commander I must act as temporary Commander" Unohana said quietly as the Arrancar assembled all heard that, well it definitely did make her even more scary now that they knew she was second best only to the captain commander.

* * *

The lead Arrancar nodded his head in understanding and then looked around all of the Arrancar around him. They were all still ready to go and the only thing that had really changed was that one extra captain had joined into the fray, it did not deter them too much as it was still within their favour. The lead Arrancar raised his Zanpaktou into the air and was ready to call out the charge when he felt a monstrous rise in spiritual pressure off in the distance.

He alongside all of the Arrancar within his retinue and even the three captains all looked in the direction in which the blast of pure spiritual pressure had come from. What they could see was a massive tower of yellow/golden spiritual pressure spewing out into the air. The pure amount of it had some of the Arrancar watching in surprise as it reminded them much of their leader who had such monstrous levels of spiritual pressure himself, they could only guess that it was he who was fighting the owner of the monstrous yellow spiritual pressure.

"Looks like Zaraki is going all out" Unohana said mostly to herself to which both Ukitake and Kyoraku nodded their heads.

"Last time I felt him do anything like this was when he fought with Ichigo when they first invaded the Soul Society" Ukitake said as he remembered the time very well, many just simply could not believe that a mere human invader had made the man with the greatest level of spiritual pressure besides the Captain Commander, go all out, if none of them had been witness to the feeling none of them ould have believed it possible.

At the same time as Zaraki's spiritual pressure took its monstrous rise, so too did Soi Feng's only for it to go faint again and reduce to a level of almost no feeling at all. They could feel a great spiritual pressure blast and then Hitsugaya being forced into Bankai as he fought against his opponent. Then they finally felt the power as Byakuya went Bankai. What chilled them the most however was the level of power exhibited by the hollows, or Arrancar that were fighting the captains. They were on a whole new level from what they had faced in Karakura Town.

"What is going on here?" Unohana asked almost sounding fearful. To this question the lead Arrancar too kit upon himself to answer her. He walked forward slowly as he placed his Zanpaktou on his right shoulder and let it rest there as he slowly strolled towards the female captain.

"This is a rescue mission into Soul Society, we wat one thing and one thing only, we want Orihime Inoue returned to us safe and sound, no injuries whatsoever on her person, conform to these demands and we shall leave without killing you" the Arrancar said with authority. Unohana could not understand what the Arrancar wa on about, they did not have Orihime and neither would they need her at all, she had helped at the Winter War yes, but they had tried their best not to involve them humans in their affairs ever since Ichigo had lost his powers.

"We do not have her though" Unohana answered and noticed the wy in which the expression of the lead Arrancar did not change at all, it simply stayed the same as it had been when he was speaking.

"I expected you to say that, but I am under orders to search every inch of this place and I intend to do it, your consent to do so or not" the lead Arrancar said before he then leapt into the air and brought his Zanpaktou downwards towards Unohana. She was quick to react and stopped his blade before it was able to do any damage to her. "I apologise for my actions but to enact my orders I must act like this" the Arrancar tried to explain as he forced down even harder on her Zanpaktou. "I will do my utmost to try and not kill you" he finished as he then stood on her blade and kicked off it and performed a backflip, landing on the ground in front of her.

"Attack! We must find Orihime Inoue for Zakabe-Sama!" the lead Arrancar said as he then leapt forward again and assailed Unohana with attack after attack that she was only just able to defend herself against. the Arrancar did not look like he was exactly enjoying himself, but Unohana could tell that through his words, despite his own feelings he would do as commanded. The male Arrancar with knuckledusters instandly set a punch towards Ukitake's face that was only able to duck in enough time when Kyoraku called out "Ukitake! Duck!"

* * *

Ukitake was then dodging and weaving between punches that were sent his way from the Arrancar. One particularly strong punch caught huim by surprise and caught him in the shoulder, he felt it impacting his shoulder but then felt the feeling of an explosion hitting him and was blasted back a few feet as he cried out in pain. Once he stopped he looked to the form of the arancar that had hit him and could see the red spiritual pressure that was coating his fist.

"That was a bala wasn't it?" Ukitake asked as he rolled his shoulder to make sure it was still in working order. Deciding that it was he then rolled both shoulders and cracked his neck. The Arrancar simply looked at him before it nodded its head.

"Indeed, I apply my cero to my fists just after I hit you, essentially I blasted off a mini cero the second I punched you" the Arrancar answered to which Ukitake was startled by its honesty and explanation. He had half expected some sort of cocky retort from the Arrancar yet received none.

"You guys are definitely different from the other Arrancar I've faced before" Ukitake said quietly as the Arrancar then leaned backwards and laughed heavily, to which Ukitake did not know whether to take it as an insult or if he had in fact said something very witty.

"I should hope so! They got cocky because the Hogyoku gave them their powers and their increases in strength. We however alongside Zakabe-sama were as powerful as this because we spent a very long time getting this strong, we only got this powerful due to our determination, as such we are not arrogant and cocky with our power as we know how long it took to acquire and just how to apply it correctly" the Arrancar answered him very formally. Ukitake was taken aback by the way in which he talked about his predecessors; he seemed to hate them to a great degree.

"Does this mean that you are stronger then?" Ukitake asked almost kicking himself after he asked such a question, he half expected the laughter to continue and increase but was surprised when it did not. He watched as the Arrancar then looked at him through determined eyes, the likes of which Ukitake had never seen in anything of hollow origin.

"Yes, we are much stronger than the 'Espada' you fought in the past" the Arrancar finished as it sent another fist crashing towards Ukitake's other shoulder. The captain was prepared for this however and was able to deflect the hit with plenty enough time to spare and sent the Arrancar's arm out wide. With his other Zanpaktou Ukitake then brought it around in a sweeping arc and cat across the stomach of his adversary who only smiled at the sudden wound.

"Good to see you are taking this seriously captain-san" the Arrancar said simply before it began its attacks anew.

* * *

Kyoraku dodged a particularly nasty swipe with an axe and then had to duck as a morning star passed over his head and he just had to sigh in defeat, just why he had to fight a strong opponent and a strong and beautiful female opponent. Surely the Soul King was watching him and loving watching as Kyoraku struggled against his unwillingness to fight against a woman.

The male Arrancar brought his large axe downwards towards Kyoraku's face and he was forced to raise his Zanpaktou in order to deflect the large blade from cleaving through his skull until her felt a great force ebing applied to his stomach and upon closer inspection found it to be the morning star of the beautiful Arrancar's. With a burst of his spiritual pressure he sent both Arrancar screeching away from him along the ground. He then fell to his knees as the effects of the blow became more apparent to him. He was breathing heavily as he tried to regain his breath after having it forcibly removed from him by the beautiful Arrancar.

"What is wrong captain-san, I would have though a captain of your standard would be easily capable of taking on two of us at once?" the male Arrancar asked gently, wondering exactly why the captain they all respected alongside the other two was performing far under par from what they were expecting.

"I guess I'm just out of my game here then, wouldn't you say so too?" Kyoraku asked as he laughed softly, before he then winced in pain as his stomach flipped and he felt the wind being driven out of him again. Though he was not attacked it was but his laughter that caused his pain.

"Then we shall just knock you out and move on if that is the case" came the melodic and almost angelic voice of the female Arrancar. She moved over to the form of Kyoraku and raised her hand in a way so that she could chop the back of Kyoraku's neck and knock him out. Before she could finish however there was the sound of Sonido and her hand was suddenly stopped.

* * *

She looked at the hand which had stopped her own and found to her horror that the clothing was not one of Shinigami origin. Instantly she looked up to the face of the one that had stopped her. His grin was what caught her gaze first, a grin she had only ever heard of before.

"G…G…Grimmjow!" was all she could say as the form of Grimmjow Jaggerjaques grinned down on the form of the Arrancar woman that had just tried to attack the captain. All of the other Arrancar within the area instantly turned their attention to the name of the one that had been called out. His grin met all of them individually.

"Yo" was all he said as he released the wrist of the Arrancar woman and allowed her to step back in astonishment.

"What are you doing here? Even more so how did you get here?" the lead Arrancar asked from where he was standing, all of the captains could only look on in confusion as the Arrancar seemed to have went from somewhat confident to much more reserved and maybe even afraid of the newcomer. Grimmjow simply smiled at the question.

"I've been here all the time, been following you guys for a while now, as to why I am here, well let's just say I got information that will come in handy" Grimmjow said as he once again smiled at them all with that almost maniacal grin. The lead Arrancar was beginning to worry now, there should have been no way that Grimmjow was alive, much less there at all.

"And what kind of information would that be?" the lead Arrancar asked as he finally walked away from Unohana, having lost interest in fighting her, he was now more prepared to fight a former Arrancar if need be.

Grimmjow grinned once again and behind him his spiritual pressure grew and took the form of a blue panther with its fangs bared at the entirety of those around him. "Well the whereabouts of Orihime Inoue for one" Grimmjow said as the Arrancar all looked to him with surprised glares as Grimmjow simply grinned back. "And the means by which to reach her" Grimmjow said as his grin disappeared.

"What are you talking about? How can you know where she is? Are you in on this?" the lead Arrancar asked as Grimmjow simply looked at him and then between all of the captains around him.

"Of course not" Grimmjow answered somewhat irritated. He then looked between the Arrancar before he continued onwards. "When you have seen some of the things I have seen and fought who I have fought you come to realise some things" Grimmjow said as he looked between them. "You said you are better than we original Espada and you may be correct, but I do not care about that, I fought against an exceptional opponent once as he tried his best to save one of his nakama" Grimmjow continued as the Arrancar looked at him confused yet the captains knew of the man in which he spoke of.

"He fought to the best of his ability and even used things that were harming him too, he ultimately defeated me and could have killed me but did not, he even went so far as to save me when I was attacked" Grimmjow continued as he rolled off his story. "That was when I realised that he was not a man with whom to mess with, a man who would defend an opponent he had just defeated is not an evil man, if anything he is the greatest form of man, it was from that moment forth that I vowed I would help him from the shadows until I needed to reveal myself, I have done what I can to make sure that all information I have acquired until now has been useful" Grimmjow finished as all of the Arrancar looked at him as if he was crazy.

"What are you talking about?" The lead Arrancar asked him finally to which Grimmjow turned to him with a glare that silenced the Arrancar instantly.

"I am going to stop Ichigo from destroying this place needlessly, if he destroys it now, then who do we hollows fight in the future? We need the Soul Society to remain so that there is somewhere to go when we are purified" Grimmjow said until he cast his gaze over to his left, there he saw a massive tower of black spiritual pressure rising off of the ground and then further off to the left he saw a massive multi-coloured tower of spiritual pressure explode into the sky and outwards too.

"We're too late, the damn King and God of Hueco Mundo have went completely all out" Grimmjow said as he used Sonido to try and stop one of the two behemoths. Hoping that there was another who would stop the other from destroying the place. "You must conserve your anger Ichigo, this is not the place to unleash it, leave your anger for Hell!" Grimmjow roared as he headed towards the black tower of spiritual pressure.

* * *

_Well there you go, what a twist with Grimmjow coming in like that huh? I will explain why he is there and such bettr in the coming chapters but I do hope that you guys like this chapter as you have the previous ones and I hope to hear from you all too, as always please R&R and I shall see you next time on whatever I write=] - Varrukh_


	24. Chapter 24 Battle Royale Continues

_**10th Division Barracks**_

Zakabe smiled as he looked through the smoke that had covered over his field of vision. Where his cero had earlier screamed forward and impacted with the captain. The smoke cleared and showed that same captain with wings of ice behind his back, his feet were covered in ice too and his hand wielding his Zanpaktou was coated in ice. Zakabe felt proud that he had already forced a captain into Bankai without even showing the full extent of his power yet. He took in the appearance of the captain however and deduced that he was either really new or just immature; he looked like a kid after all.

Toshiro simply stayed in the air as he stared down at the form of the Arrancar that had attacked him. The power behind that cero was on a level he had never even dreamed of before. He had fought an Espada, admittedly not himself, but he had fought her and her power was frightening. This man though, his power dwarfed hers, it took hers and multiplied it ten-fold.

"I see I have already forced your hand Hitsugaya-Kun, would you appreciate it more if I was to increase my own level of strength?" Zakabe asked the young captain. Toshiro looked at the Arrancar with a look that was a mixture of fear and astonishment. The Arrancar was actually asking him? What the hell was this all about?

Toshiro could not answer; he did not want to give an answer. He would love to have said that he wanted to see the full power of the Arrancar he fought, so that they fought on equal grounds. Yet he had seen the power he held when he was in his normal form, with even more power or strength behind him then he would become a monster and Toshiro was not so sure about his chances, I mean let's face it, if what the Arrancar said was true and he was the King of Hollows, he had to be strong enough to get all hollows to be subservient to him.

"Since you have not answered I see no real reason to change anything" Zakabe admitted as he flashed out of existence and appeared right behind Toshiro. He brought his right foot crashing forward and drove it towards the lower back of the young captain. His foot was however stopped by a Zanpaktou that had been angled over the young captain's back, without him even looking. Zakabe could feel the rise in spiritual pressure now and smiled. Ice blue spiritual pressure floated calmly from the form of Toshiro and he looked calmly over his shoulder at Zakabe. Emerald eyes met with sapphire eyes and Zakabe's grin grew across his face.

"I see you may be more inclined to make me go all out now" Zakabe calmly stated to Toshiro who simply slashed and forced Zakabe back slightly. Zakabe had to smile at that, the kid had some strength if he was able to push him away. He might not have been applying his full power but it was still and impressive feat for the young captain to pull off. He nodded his head in appreciation and brought his hand across his face, Toshiro watched in curiosity until he recognised where he had seen such a move before.

"What are you doing? You are an Arrancar, there is no way you can do that" Toshiro stated to the Arrancar whom he had turned around to face. Zakabe smiled even wider as he removed his hand from his face. The smile he had only made Toshiro worry even more, that was a smile that could only mean bad shit was going to happen.

"Captain-san there are some things that you know and some things you don't, I am one of those you do not, try not to understand anything about me during our fight because it will make no sense with your previous knowledge" Zakabe said as he moved his hand over his face and after collecting black spiritual pressure into his hand, brought it down and across his face appeared a black mask. It had two large horns facing forwards and had green markings running across the eyeholes from the top to the bottom of the mask. Toshiro simply stared in shock, the Arrancar had, against his knowledge pulled out a Visored mask despite being an Arrancar.

"How, how is this possible?" Toshiro stammered as the masked form of Zakabe turned its attention towards Toshiro before letting losse a deep laughter that was mirrored in the mask's movements, there was even that evil undertone that repeated what was said at a shriller level.

"I did tell you not to try and understand any of this Captain-san, I am no ordinary Arrancar, I do not even know what I am, what I do know is that this fight had better be a good one" Zakabe finished as finally the power of his spiritual pressure fell forth from his form in the shape of a crashing wave. Toshiro had to stare in astonishment as the black spiritual pressure began to rage across the body of Zakabe. It looked like a huge flame that was finding its core from the form of Zakabe himself. Zakabe stretched and Toshiro was able to see the strong form of the creature before him, this was definitely not going to be easy.

* * *

Zakabe then raised his Zanpaktou above his head. In a flash he had disappeared and reappeared before Toshiro and brought his Zanpaktou down hard. Toshiro was able to move his Zanpaktou into position to block the hit but still felt the force of the blow and even in his Bankai state he could not stop the full force of the hit. His Zanpaktou was forced completely downwards. Toshiro looked at his Zanpaktou in astonishment and was not prepared when a fist came flying into his face at breakneck speeds. It impacted on Toshiro's cheek and sent him flying across the sky a few feet.

Toshiro skidded to a halt and held a hand over his newly throbbing cheek. His eye on the cheek he was hit on was actually forced into closing due to the ferocity of the hit. He looked over to Zakabe and could see the masked Arrancar simply standing before him without any indication of anything wrong.

"What are you?" Toshiro asked out loud in an almost horrified way, Zakabe only smirked beneath his mask before he used Sonido and was instantly in front of Toshiro.

"I'm the King of Hueco Mundo, I thought I already told you that?" Zakabe asked as Toshiro's eyes widened in fear at the sudden appearance of his adversary. Zakabe merely grinned under his mask again before he swiped outwards at the young captain. Toshiro raised his own Zanpaktou to counter Zakabe's attack and was once again easily overpowered. Toshiro was sent far across the sky as his power was unable to compare to the power of Zakabe. With a grunt Toshiro went flying.

"Captain-san, I am deeply disappointed in you, here I thought you might be able to show me a good fight but you are really boring" Zakabe complained as he dispelled his mask, revealing a truly disappointed face. Toshiro could only stare at him in fury. Yes he was furious that the creature was talking about him in such a fashion, he had trained to get stronger had he not? What worth was all that training if he could not fight back against all odds?

If he fell now he would leave all of Soul Society in peril. He was a captain of the thirteen court guard squads. He could not fall, not now. There was too much he had to protect. He had to protect the Soul Society, he had to protect the Rukognai, he had to protect his division members, and he had to protect…Momo. Her smiling face crossed over his mind, she was finally doing better, it had taken them over a year but finally she was beginning to recover.

He could not fail here, he just couldn't, if he failed here then Momo would be in danger and he simply refused to let that happen. It had killed him to see her so broken, to see her so weak and incapable of understanding the truth, but now that she was finally recovering, he was going to win.

* * *

Zakabe could feel the spiritual pressure from the young captain begin to rise again and smiled. Over where the young captain was standing there was a monstrous rise in his spiritual pressure, the ice blue spiritual pressure that had oozed off of him earlier was now spiking off of him as if it could not get away from him quick enough. The rise even had Zakabe watching in excitement, maybe despite his age he would be a fight worthy of recognition?

Zakabe made his own spiritual pressure rise too, comparing his power to that of the captain before him and found to his delight that the captain's power was beginning to overpower his own. Even though Toshiro was in Bankai and would have a greater level of spiritual pressure to begin with. Nonetheless Zakabe found himself smiling as his own spiritual pressure had to cap off at his normal level. While his capped off Toshiro's seemed to just continue to rise.

"This is more like it Captain-San, show me the power of a captain of the Gotei 13, show me the power of the latest Shinigami Prodigy!" Zakabe yelled as Toshiro was finally enveloped in the spiritual pressure that was being expelled from his body. Zakabe was more than content to stand and watch as the captain continued to show his power, the grin on his face was beginning to reach into the almost insane levels.

"Stop making me wait Captain-San! I don't like to be kept waiting!" Zakabe yelled as the maelstrom of spiritual pressure started expanding. From within the maelstrom an icy foot was revealed, or more to be put a clawed foot. Finally the swirling mass of icy blue spiritual pressure span and faded out to reveal just what had happened to Toshiro.

He had changed drastically. The wings that were on his back had multiplied and now instead of a singular pair of wings he had three pairs of wings, all completely made of ice and were even looking much sharper than before. All of his body was encased in ice. In essence he looked like a bipedal ice dragon (if you want reference to what he looks like, think of the dragon in the movie Diamond Dust Rebellion) with the exception of the Zanpaktou that was still held in his right hand.

"This is my perfect form of my Zanpaktou, Saigo no Hyoryu, 'The Final Ice Dragon'" Toshiro answered back to which Zakabe only had a great big wide grin at. He was getting to fight against a dragon, a dragon! Zakabe gripped his Zanpaktou tightly as the excitement washed through his body, to fight something of such beauty and grace was something of a gift for him. Toshiro disappeared from before him and was in front of him again within a second. The mouth of the dragon was opened and with an arcing movement of his head Toshiro had sent out a wave of ice towards Zakabe.

"Hyoryu Senbi!" Toshiro said as he moved his head back to its natural place and watched as Zakabe landed again on his feet not far from him with a grin on his face. He could see the captain was serious now and he liked it. The power pouring off of the captain was just so tantalising, he wondered just why he had ever wanted to go after the 11th division captain, this one was plenty fun. He was not going to rush things this time however, he had went straight to his mask without thinking and had almost lost the captain too early. He would hang off until the captain proved to him that it would be needed.

Without much deliberation Zakabe used Sonido and was right above the ice dragon, aiming a slice downwards upon the raised arm of the ice dragon. Sparks flew as the blade grinded against the hard surface of the ice dragon. Zakabe applied his other hand to the hand of the blade and forced down harder against the arm to find it not budging much at all. Toshiro then brought his other arm around his chest and dug his fist right into the gut of Zakabe blowing him across the sky and leaving a definitive shockwave in the sky.

Zakabe halted his flight in the air long enough to skid through the air and find to his shock and glee that the dragon was right before him once again. The same fist cocked and ready to go. Without much of a wait he was once again subject to a punch from the ice encased fist of the dragon captain. Zakabe was once again flying through the air, but despite the damage he had sustained and even the spitting of blood due to the gruesome hit he had taken the smile on his face did not wane at all. Why would it? He was having far too much fun to not enjoy this.

* * *

While he flew through the air he took the time to see just how his comrades were progressing. He could feel the spiritual pressure of Sera first and found her fighting against the captain of the 11th division, he spiritual pressure seemed excited as his was slowly becoming. He smiled at the way Sera was enjoying her fight.

He felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure staying at a level below his own at that moment and time, he must be trying to milk his opponent for all the fight he had in him, that or he had yet to start his fight Zakabe was not too sure on that one honestly.

He felt the spiritual pressure of his four followers and found them fighting against two and then three captains and smiled, they were all battle ready Arrancar and would just love the challenge presented to them by these captains, they seemed to perfectly fit the bill of strong adversaries, maybe Aizen's actions in the past had shown them their own incompetence.

Finally he felt the spiritual pressure of the other member of their party, though he was not happy with her accompaniment, Ichigo was and he would accept it simply on those terms. What surprised him though that for a meagre human, that woman had spiritual pressure on a level her body should not be able to contain, no matter what amount of exposure she had to spiritual beings, there had to be some sort of explanation as to why she was as powerful as she was. What shocked and surprised him even more was when he felt her spiritual pressure rise above the level of a captain in Bankai as he had been doing earlier. Dislike her as much as he may, he had to take his hat off to her, that was an impressive feat, and then finally when the captain's spiritual pressure faded to little he was wondering whether he could get on her good side and have a new sparring partner, never hurt to have a few different fighting partners.

* * *

Bringing his mind back into the game he could see the dragon before him standing facing him with its arms out wide and something shining in between its teeth. Zakabe grinned, and here he thought Shinigami would hate any ability that reminded them of hollow attacks. The dragon raised its head before shooting it forwards again and sending a pillar of ice shooting directly for Zakabe, with his grin still in place Zakabe collected the spiritual pressure across his face and pulled down quickly. The black ominous mask took its rightful place on his face and he felt as if he were complete again.

Coming out of his secondary reverie, Zakabe used his heightened abilities and used Sonido to escape the reach of the ice pillar that went screaming past him. As he watched its progress as it passed him for the barest of moments, he was not prepared when he felt a Zanpaktou biting into his side. Once he registered the blade trying to cut through the space in between two of his ribs he instantly used Sonido once again to escape the fate that was inevitable coming. He spun around quickly to see the ice dragon standing where he had been only a few seconds ago with a Zanpaktou dripping with his blood.

Zakabe was surprised by the attack and was breathing heavily. The pain in his ribs was surprisingly strong and he had to hold a hand over his wound due to the pain reaching a surprisingly almost unbearable level. He would bear it however, he would not forgive himself if he failed Ichigo, nor if he were to fall after only one fight, he was meant to be the King of Hueco Mundo for a reason, he was meant to be the Demon Lord of Hueco Mundo for a reason, he would not have the luck of a captain bring him down.

Zakabe moved his hand from his wound and swiped his hand outwards, getting some of the blood to fly from his hand in the action. He looked to the form of the dragon closing in on him and smiled at it.

"This is more like it Captain-San, make me fear for my life, make me fight for it, give me a worthy fight!" Zakabe yelled out as he raised his Zanpaktou and pointed it towards the ice dragon. "This is what I have been looking for in a Shinigami, strength!" Zakabe yelled as he generated spiritual pressure to the tip of his Zanpaktou and let loose a weak green cero towards the form of the ice dragon. The ice dragon did not move from the beam and instead only moved one of its six wings into the path of the cero and simply knocked it off its path and away to the side.

Zakabe's smile under his mask, if anything simply grew larger. "That's what I like to see Captain-San, now show me why you fight me with this much power now! Tell me what is it you protect?" Zakabe yelled as the ice dragon retracted its wing and stared at Zakabe placidly. "Do you fight for your honour? Do you fight for your squad or maybe even the whole of Soul Society?" Zakabe continued until he simply smirked and looked directly at the dragon. "Or could it possibly be that you are doing this to protect dear Momo Hinamori?" Zakabe asked, and instantly there was a reaction as the ice dragon before him let loose a bestial roar and dove straight for him.

"How the hell do you know about her!" Toshiro almost screamed and due to the state he was in it was made deeper due to being like a dragon and all. His Zanpaktou came down towards Zakabe at lightning speed and only due to his speed was he able to escape the face of a bisected man.

"Come now, anger is most unbefitting of you Captain-San, and to answer your question, the tyrant who ruled over us may have viewed me as slightly more trustable and told me of everything he knew about the Winter War, of course he lied and told me he had killed Aizen, alas I know most of what happened in the battle and to have heard of your fury when you ran her through like that, it only makes sense that you fight so valiantly to protect her now" Zakabe answered as Toshiro was left shocked at the level of information the Arrancar was privy to, despite not being there he was vastly accurate in what he had said. Not to mention the fact he had brought up the memory of him stabbing Momo, which was not one of his best memories. With a grunt he forced against Zakabe's blade and punched at his face again only to find to his shock that punching the mask hurt him too and that even when the shockwave hit, Zakabe stood still as he had been. The mask cracked slightly before shattering completely to reveal the face of Zakabe. Albeit the fact his face looked slightly surprised.

"I won't let you get anywhere near Momo!" Toshiro yelled in his draconic voice as he brought his balled fist downwards onto the top of Zakabe's head, catching the king off guard for the slightest of seconds and sending him screeching towards the ground below. Toshiro looked down and could see the dancing of golden spiritual pressure alongside purple, off to the side of the fight he saw where the impact crater of Zakabe hit and descended towards it at breakneck speed. He would not let Momo be hurt, he would not allow her progress to be hindered by these damn Arrancar, he did not care if he died in the venture he would destroy anyone who threatened to harm Momo in any way, shape or form.

* * *

**_11th Division Barracks_**

Sera watched the spectacle before her and swore that she basically saw Zakabe if he were to have been a Shinigami. Honestly the similarities were almost frightful. They were both large men, although Zakabe was slightly smaller in contrast. Both had unbelievable levels of spiritual pressure to the extent that it was constantly leaking out of their bodies. Even at that she could tell the captain was holding back a great majority of his power. Then the one that caught her attention the most was the personality of the captain. He loved battle, it was his life it appeared. Just like Zakabe had once been like.

He had seemed eager to fight against her despite the fact she was a woman, he liked her show of power and wished to test his skill against her own, he wanted to know who was the strongest. She was only too happy to oblige, she wanted to show herself as strong to the Shinigami but she also wanted to demonstrate to Zakabe why she was a worthy mate, what they may share with each other may have teetered on the edge of love, she was not sure, but she knew that if he saw her as strong enough to take on the battle orientated captain of Shinigami, there would be no question if he loved her.

Sera was currently standing opposite the huge man standing side-on, her left side facing him as she almost looked over her shoulder at him. In her right hand she tightly clenched onto the handle of the whip which she had with her, its scaled design shining in the beautiful moonlight of the Soul Society.

Zaraki looked to the woman before him in a very concentrated manner. He was not one to think about his fights but she had him somewhat confused. In all brutal honesty he had always found women to be the weaker of those he ever had to fight, this woman was in a league of her own though, she was strong, he could simply see it from the way she held herself. Her posture was calm yet sure, her spiritual pressure was like his flowing from her body, just at a much lesser rate than his own.

He lifted his Zanpaktou up into the air and ran across the ground towards the woman who opposed him. She did not move at all and when Zaraki brought his Zanpaktou downwards towards the chest of the woman before him. She quickly back stepped and with a deft movement of her hand had sent her whip out towards the face of Zaraki. He expected the crack of the whip to impact with his face but was surprised when it simply cracked in front of his face, instead from the crack a soft application of force was applied to his face, as if wind were directed at him.

The face of the woman told him that she was happy with the reaction she had received from him. His surprised eyes looked over to her face again as he waited for her to explain what had just happened.

"This weapon is the only Arrancar Zanpaktou much like a Shinigami's, instead of giving me back some of my primal powers, this gives me new abilities" Sera explained as she looked over the scaled whip she held in her hand. Zaraki simply grunted in annoyance.

"You use tricks to fight then? Pfft, I hope that other Arrancar you were talking about is anything like that Espada I fought, at least he was fun to fight" Zaraki said before he pointed his Zanpaktou to the ground. Moving his muscles around Zaraki tried to get himself ready for the fight to come, he did not expect much from it, maybe he would get some fun out of fighting the woman, but if she fought with tricks then it was not fun at all really.

Sera looked at him with an annoyed expression as Zaraki compared his expectations of Zakabe to the abomination that was Nnoitra Gilga of the former Espada. She supposed however that it was just within this captains nature to be blunt about everything and seeing as he acted much like a barbarian a lot of the time, it could only be expected.

"Very well Kenpachi-Kun, I will fight you with nothing more than my brute fighting skills" Sera said as she looked directly towards the towering man before her, the gasps of the members of his division worried her slightly before she steeled over her resolve, she would fight this Shinigami and she would win.

"That's more like it, I like you, I'll try not to kill you" Zaraki answered her simply before he shot forward and tried to slice at her left arm.

* * *

Sera spun around just in time to miss the slash at her arm and dipped down low as she grabbed the handle of her whip hard. Using the momentum of her spin she shot her whip outwards and wound it around the arm of the captain from the shoulder downwards. The captain was unable to do much as in that split second that he had to realise he was captured Sera had made her move. Applying spiritual pressure down her whip she made the scales of the whip vibrate, separating and reconnecting with the whip rapidly. In a deft movement she then pulled hard against the captain's arm, with that she had the captain leaving the ground for a second before touching down again, his right arm bleeding heavily.

Zaraki looked to the wound on his arm and felt something akin to joy running through his system. No-one had made him bleed this soon in a very long time; the only other person who had ever been able to do that was Yachiru, the original Yachiru. The feeling of euphoria ran through his system, never had he felt this feeling in so long. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he leaned his head backwards and let loose a roar. Opening his eyes triggered the laughter that started to echo through the very area they were standing in, even his squad members were wondering if he was alright.

"Too long, it's been too long since a fight of this level has come my way, to have a blade sharper than my skin means you are strong" Zaraki explained as he focussed his attention back upon her again and his smile grew larger. "Come now! Let's Go!" Zaraki roared as he leapt across the land between them, Sera had to act fast or else meet the sharp edge of Zaraki's blade. She leapt backwards and upwards away from the form of the captain coming for her. His smile was really creeping her out, could he really be that happy because he was fighting someone so strong? Was Zakabe like this before?

Zaraki recovered from his attack quickly and changed direction to leap at her again. His Zanpaktou was low and once he got close enough he brought it back upwards in a vicious slash that would have cut away at her stomach if she had not used Sonido to quickly escape the area. With the advantage of space Sera once again applied spiritual pressure to her whip and sent the vibrating scale whip at the barbaric captain. Even as the whip slashed across his chest he did not appear fazed, if anything it scared her even more the fact that he smiled wider after the application of her attack. His attention was directly on her again and he pushed off from his position in the air over to her. With her whip being so far out Sera was unable to block him in time.

She felt the ice cold bite as the Zanpaktou bit into her left arm, from the top of her shoulder down to her elbow. He had not got a serious wound on her, but it was still a slight hindrance and could cause her problems. Using her Sonido too late she put distance between them. She stood panting as Zaraki simply stood where she had been second before, only to follow her without any hesitation. This man did not give up easily!

Sera shot her whip outwards towards the form of Zaraki and succeeded in surrounding the shoulders and some of the chest of the large man within her whip. With a light smirk she pulled away again, causing great tears to appear on the shoulders and chest of said man, but he did not stop. If anything before his captains Haori and Shinigami top half could hit the ground he had already shot out towards her. He was like a rabid animal, he was out for the thrill of the fight and currently she was this thrill he sought.

Sera was not liking how this battle was turning out, she had hoped to stand on par with the man, but he was just so relentless that she could not keep up and give back any good counterattacks. It was only now she realised her weapon was far too ill-suited to fight against this beast, she could not hope to beat him. The despair in her heart caught her off guard as she realised with her failure to beat this creature, Zakabe might not view her as worthy of his time. He could only see her as worthy just now because of the bond they had shared in the past, but she knew that had already been strained to the point of breaking before.

With a snapping sound Sera's mind was made up. She would not run any longer. She would stand, she would fight and she would win, no matter the cost. Stopping dead in her tracks she released her spiritual pressure and roared towards the captain who had been attacking her. Zaraki looked to her in interest as indigo spiritual pressure flew off of the woman before him, it was rising and it was strong, potent even. His smile returned to his face and he tensed his own spiritual pressure, he saw the look on the woman's face falter for a moment.

* * *

"In a fight of spiritual pressure I win, I have the greatest amount of it in this entire place!" Zaraki yelled before he shot through the air towards the form of Sera. The Arrancar woman simply stood still before she cracked her whip out to the side, nowhere near him. However Zaraki did notice the way in which the whip started to glow and then move up her arm. Soon enough her entire body was covered in the glow from the whip and Zaraki could get no closer, the powers of spiritual pressure not allowing him to get any closer.

Soon enough the form of Sera was once again revealed to him and Zaraki could see just what had happened to the woman. Where he had expected a resurrection form he did not get as expected. She now stood in the same place; her clothing had changed from her white dress to the same kind of clothing Nelliel Tu Odelshvank used to wear. What Zaraki noticed the most however was that in the woman's ahdns now were two whips, each of which hand material that connected them to gauntlets on the woman's hands. One whip was Golden in colour whereas the other was Silver in colour.

"What did you do?" Zaraki asked as he stared at the woman before him in surprise. Sera simply smirked at him before she released her newfound spiritual pressure. The volume was much more potent than it had been previously and Zaraki found himself struggling to stand his own ground. What a thrill it drilled into his system to struggle against the power of someone else, someone almost as strong as him!

"I feel as if you might just be capable of making me go all out!" Zaraki yelled as he grabbed the eyepatch that covered over his right eye. "Don't make this a disappointment please" Zaraki said as he tore the eyepatch off, and suddenly the area was awash with the sheer brutal force that was Zaraki's spiritual pressure, even his squad members were unable to take the power, Sera noticed the only two who could stand up to it were the two who had debated about who would fight her. Besides them there was also a small pink haired girl who was sitting on a small wall not too far away from both mean, and she seemed to be smiling as she saw Zaraki releasing his entire sea of spiritual pressure.

Admittedly she found the monstrous increase in spiritual pressure to be frightening. Even after the beating he had taken he was still prepared to go on?

He gripped his Zanpaktou tightly as his concentration was focussed entirely upon her. His spiritual pressure danced from his form and Sera would not deny the feeling of fear running through her system. She had just increased her output to try and overpower him but here he was releasing even more. It was impossible!

Sera twisted around and brought her whips with her. She sent both whips cracking outwards both whips extended out towards Zaraki and once they reached the complete length both whips stopped dead, stuck in their straight forms. As the crack sounded there was a spark lit between the tips of both whips and in between the tips a purple cero began to form.

Zaraki watched this with mild trepidation but did not feel the same overwhelming fear that ran through most people's minds when they saw a cero forming right in front of their faces. He simply stood in front of the cero that was slowly getting larger in front of his face. As the cero was finally released he still did not move. Even as the cero was an arm's length away from his body he did not move.

In that instant he shot his hand out and stopped the progression of the cero with his hand. The large purple cero was halted in its path and tried to force against Zaraki with all its might only to be beaten back by the brutish power of Zaraki. Sera could only stare in astonishment as her cero began to reduce in size until it was condensed into the hand of Zaraki. It did not even look as if it was taking much effort on his part, if anything he done it with relative ease.

He cast his arm to the side and in doing so let go of the cero in his hand, sending the cero blasting through the sky. The only way that anyone could see if Zaraki had taken any damage, was the rising of smoke from his hand, indicating that the cero had, at the very least, burned him slightly. His smile certainly did not indicate the wound had hurt him at all anyway.

* * *

Zaraki disappeared and was in front of her again with his Zanpaktou high and already on the descent. Sera was slow to react and had to bring her whip in her left hand around in as quick an arc as she could create in such a slim margin of time. Luck was on her side however as she managed to get the whip around Zaraki's outstretched arm. Pulling on it hard she manoeuvred her body so that it flew over his shoulder. With a movement of her other hand she sent the other whip outwards and wrapping around his other arm, with that she landed behind him with a big smile on her face.

Her victory was short lived however as Zaraki simply pulled against her whips and despite cutting against his skin he wove both of the whips away from him, which in turn caused Sera to fly towards him backwards. Once she was finally close to him he turned slightly and dug his elbow right into her side, Sera let out a groan of pain as the pain of the elbow crashing into her side caught her off guard.

Quickly regaining her composure Sera retracted her whips from the form of Zaraki, who now had two heavily bleeding arms, the blood dripping off of his fingers to the ground far below them. He turned to face her with a smile on his face.

"You're fighting style is different, I've not had this much fun in a long time!" Zaraki called over to her before he dove at her again. She moved around his attacks and soon they had settled into an almost dance-like scenario. He was leading as he was on the offensive as his swipes came fast and easy towards Sera and she was deft and agile enough to dodge all of the attacks that came her way, managing to give back some quick counterattacks.

Soon enough their fight was shifted from the air to the ground once again in front of his entire squad who watched the fight with great interest. The woman was definitely giving their captain a good run for his money. As the two continued their intricate dance of battle on the ground some of the squad members felt their attention being diverted towards the skies again, in the direction of the 10th division. As they looked to the sky they could see the ice blue spiritual pressure revealing an ice dragon that signified the 10th division captain going all out in his fight.

Their attention was redirected towards the two fighting next to their position however as both had stopped moving and were now standing slightly apart, with the woman panting while she faced the towering form of the 11th division captain. To those who had looked away at the exchange of power between the other captains, they wished they had not been distracted. Before them was the form of two powerful adversaries, both of which now sported numerous cuts and slashes all over their bodies. Zaraki had many across his chest and even a few on his face, Sera had a few cuts across her arms and even some areas of her chest.

"Should we finish this off Kenpachi-kun because I really much would prefer to finish our fight and continue onwards" Sera said somewhat quickly as she could feel the levels of their adversaries rising, even if she had already felt the power of the one who fought Tatsuki falling already, she could tell where Tatsuki was heading however and it sent chills up her spine.

"What and finish this fight off so soon?" Zaraki almost complained to her and she had to fight off the smile that was coming to her face, Zakabe would have probably gone on until either he or the captain were dead, it was almost a shoe in for what would happen if these two forces were ever to meet.

Sera did not answer him; she decided to let her actions speak for her and raised the whips in both her hands slightly. She sent spiritual pressure down the entire length of both whips and made them glow brighter than they already were. The vibrations of both whips began and took on the sound of a droning noise, she started to wave them around in a display before she prepared for her finale.

Zaraki could see that the woman did indeed intend to end their fight right now and though disappointed, did feel that she had been a fun fight, she had shown him her strength and in all honesty he felt happy with it. It had given him a fair run for his money. He moved his Zanpaktou in front of him and placed his other hand on the handle of his blade, looking down to his Zanpaktou he prepared to use one of his most devastating attacks. Raising his Zanpaktou high he then brought the sword down and in the same space that he had swiped through a wave of golden spiritual pressure poured forth.

Sera already had her counterattack ready as she had been spinning her whips around in opposite circles, generating ceros in between both of the circles, both of which were a deep indigo colour, the one generated in the golden whip being slightly brighter than the other one. As she released it she kept on concentrating in order to try and overpower the force behind a simple swing from Zaraki, despite her sheer terror at the power held by the captain. She felt as though she may be beating the sheer force back until there was an almighty crash right beside her.

* * *

She was able to concentrate long enough to realise that it was Zakabe who had crashed into the ground. The second that she looked down and saw through the smoke to the form under it, her world came crashing down. Laying there on the ground was Zakabe and he looked to be almost out for the count, he looked unconscious, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that would not quit but tell her he was dead. Giving in to her fears she abandoned her attempts at fighting back the Kendo swing and turned to the prone form of Zakabe.

"ZAKABE!" Sera screamed out in sheer terror of her loves demise. What she had neglected to think about was the huge amount of spiritual pressure that was directly behind her and due to her momentary lapse of concentration, the bite of it cutting through her shoulder down to her stomach came as a shock to her system. Too much force behind the attack caused Sera to be incapable of trying to stay standing.

Her mind went blank as she fell forward towards the form of Zakabe. The pain in her system was so strong that before she had even hit the ground she was completely unconscious. Little did she know that the second she had screamed Zakabe's name he had heard her and his eyes had snapped open.

* * *

He was only able to open his eyes in time to watch as golden spiritual pressure ripped through her shoulder and a great chunk into her stomach. Her body fell forward after screaming his name and her face went vacant of all emotion. Blood spurted from the wound she had just sustained and Zakabe felt his mind going blank. He could see the black beginning to cover his vision and did not care. His anger began to grow. His hatred began to grow. His fury began to grow. His rage knew no bounds.

His entire body was covered over in black spiritual pressure in that one second and Zakabe roared out into the night sky above him. All around bore witness as a large column of spiritual pressure of purest midnight black blasted into the sky and even managed to make the very clouds in the sky twist around it. The roar released by the form of Zakabe became even deeper as the spiritual pressure surrounding him became stronger and stronger, it even took on the form of a skull in the shape of his mask roaring.

Toshiro watched as a spiritual pressure stronger than what he had previously been fighting erupted from his opponent and Zaraki watched as a more potent spiritual pressure than his own spewed forth. The spiritual pressure itself even took the visage of an evil skull roaring to the sky above. This guy was definitely not going to let him off easily.

Zaraki was not happy how he had beaten the woman, he had honestly thought she might overpower his attack and it would be left to a stalemate, after that he would be happy to let her go, he wanted to keep her alive for future battle, just like he had hoped with Ichigo. Alas, her attention was diverted and her own attack never held his back for long enough and even at diminished power it still ripped right through her body. Anyone could say what they wanted but he felt as if this was not his victory, he had won by luck and coincidence.

Despite his evident anger at the manner in which he had won he felt the new spiritual pressure with an excited expression. It was like his own, vastly powerful. It poured off of the form of the Arrancar before him and he wanted to fight it so badly. And the manner in which it had roared when it saw the female Arrancar fall Zaraki could tell that it was going to fight him full of anger.

He was not wrong as the form of Zakabe stood onto his feet again. Its attention was directed solely on Zaraki. He did not look at the ice dragon above him descended upon his to finish him off. The black spiritual pressure had yet to subside from his form as it still continued to shield him from everyone's view. Once toshiro was close enough he let loose a shrill roar as he looked at Zaraki before he leapt from his position towards Zaraki, narrowly avoiding being slashed by Toshiro.

* * *

_Well you guys here you go, a nice new chapter of Hollow Kingdom. I am going to dedicate my next few days of writing to Hollow Kingdom since it is in such an important and action packed area. As such I hope to have the next chapter out by the end of this week. As always if you could R&R that would be loverly, thank you and see you next time ! =] - Varrukh_


	25. Chapter 25 God of Hueco Mundo Battles

When they had exited the Garganta they had expected that they may be met with some Shinigami who were on patrol, hoping to find that there was actually nothing wrong at all and that Ichigo's sudden urge to attack Soul Society had all been fake.

Well they had to wake up to reality once they did exit the Garganta and found to their surprise the first piece of the puzzle that painted their eventual picture of the situation. First of all, the massive hole in the wall that surrounded Soul Society, this thing was not just a small piece taken out of the wall. No this thing was about as wide as 20 people easily. Secondly was the levels of spiritual pressure that they could feel when they had exited the Garganta. Well… they were absolutely colossal, on levels none of the four of them had felt in a long time, even Matsumoto was astounded at the level her captain had gone in his fight.

Finally they got the piece of the puzzle that finished the picture when they felt the monstrous rise in two spiritual pressures, one of which was familiar, the other just feeling pure evil. Sado simply watched on unfazed as the levels of spiritual pressure finally capped off and the other three of the group were almost falling to their knees in fear. Rukia and Matsumoto for whole different reasons than Uryu. Matsumoto had felt the spiritual pressure of her captain being dwarfed by whoever it was that he was fighting and actually felt a sting of fear for him. Rukia could tell who her brother was fighting and was almost shaking in utter fear, she did not doubt the power of her brother but against whatever it was that Ichigo had become she worried for his life.

Uryu on the other hand wanted to fall to his knees for another reason. He wanted to believe that this was still Ichigo; the Ichigo that they had always known, the Ichigo who was fighting for the right reasons, fighting for those that meant something to him. The way he was acting though discouraged Uryu greatly. He was unsure if Ichigo truly believed that Orihime was in the Soul Society or f he simply wanted to go there and destroy it, despite Ichigo's many attempts at persuading him he was still human Uryu truly was still a bit sceptical. He just hoped that Ichigo knew what he was doing because otherwise he risked jeopardising much of what he had set out to change in the first place.

Ichigo had changed the Soul Society; no-one could ever deny this as it was an obvious truth. He had shown them that they had become somewhat complacent, almost to the level of arrogance; he showed them that a rookie who had owned the power they had for centuries for less than half a year that he could easily outmatch most of them. Even the captains had to admit that their levels of power could not even touch Ichigo when he was in his prime. When he invaded Soul Society, he showed them just how much they had fallen behind on their training and improvements to their techniques. That he could defeat at least two lieutenant levels and two captain level opponents spoke of his strength.

They had come to respect him after that. Understanding that without him, the whole plot with Aizen would never have been revealed. He had shown them their arrogance and their greatest threat, without even trying to. Because of that, the entirety of the Gotie 13 respected him; they viewed him as their saviour of sorts. His death at the hands of Aizen was viewed by many of them as one of the greatest losses of life in Shinigami history, one of the greatest threats ever posed to Soul Society and it was not even the Captain Commander who had stopped it. It was the substitute Shinigami who did not have to but did, literally lay his life down in order to save everyone.

The way he was acting just now though threatened to repel all of the work he had done right back at him. His invasion of Soul Society showed the Shinigami that the man who had been their greatest saviour was now one of their greatest threats. Uryu heard a roar of fury in the air and turned to the direction of the great rises in spiritual pressure, that roar was not from the voice of one he knew but he could not mistake the source of the roar. It was fury and loss, someone had clearly lost something precious and the ante was going to be upped.

"What was that?" Rukia asked almost afraid to know the answer to her question, which was not a welcome sound to her ears. Uryu turned to the short Shinigami with a look that gave nothing away about his emotions, whilst inside he felt almost the same level of fear as her.

"It is what I can only describe as not sounding at all good" Uryu answered for her to which she nodded her head, despite not wanting to accept the fact. Matsumoto looked over to Rukia and could tell that the girl was going through the same thing as her, worry about their respective captains and in Rukia's case, her brother.

"Don't worry Rukia, Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Kuchiki will do just fine, they are still strong remember" Matsumoto said to comfort the smaller Shinigami to which she received a small smile from the small woman before they were both taken by shock at the sudden interruption of a new voice.

"Doesn't matter how strong those captains are, The Demon Lord and God of Hueco Mundo are on a rampage just now" a voice spoke that Rukia had not expected. Turning on her heel she came face to face with the one man whom she had ignored far too much in the recent weeks and by the looks of it was going to pay for it very soon.

For not only was Renji right in front of her, he was right in front of her with the two Arrancar girls that were with Ichigo in the real world, both of which were standing on either side of him with looks of admiration and respect for the tall red-haired man. What was most shocking however what he was wearing was, he was not wearing his Shinigami uniform, no; he had on an Arrancar uniform, very much in the same fashion as his Shinigami uniform, only it was in complete and utter white, with black trimmings.

"Renji!" Rukia called, unsure whether to be happy or surprised by his sudden appearance. The two Arrancar that were standing so close to him were however not something she was overly excited about seeing. After hearing his name, said red-haired man turned his attention towards the woman who had called to him, with an almost bored expression on his face.

"Yes Rukia, how can I help you?" Renji asked, far too formally for Rukia's liking. His eyes held no warmth for her like they had in the past, it were as if he was not looking at her but through her. It hurt her heart to see him acting like that; it was as if he did not even want to acknowledge her even being there. If only she knew that this was exactly the way Renji had felt for the last few months.

"Where have you been?" Rukia asked, deciding to ignore the two Arrancar on both of his sides. Renji looked at her with his bored expression never leaving his face. Of all the questions for her to ask him, she asks him that one? After spending such a great amount of time forgetting about his existence she was interested _now_?

"Where do you think? I have been in Hueco Mundo for the better part of three days" Renji answered her simply, but even so his voice could still be heard as it was almost laced with venom. Rukia hearing such venom in his voice took an involuntary step backwards and looked at the re-haired man before her.

He was not the man she knew, it was too late that she had realised the effect her negligence of him had. Her negligence had pushed him away and it looked as if it was going to show her just what she had before pushing it away. His eyes did not hold the same level of warmth directed at her as they had in the past, now they looked as if they were dead when looking at her, like she were an eyesore to him. What showed he was so vastly different however was the Arrancar attire that he currently wore, it showed he had completely cast aside his old beliefs and was fighting against what he had fought so vigorously for in the past.

Renji cast his eyes over the group before him before looking over to the two columns of spiritual pressure that were blasting into the air. "I think it would be smart if we get to Ichigo soon girls" Renji spoke to which Kyota and Sachi turned to him. They understood his meaning and nodded their heads. Seconds afterwards they had used Sonido and were blasting across the night sky towards Ichigo's direction. Renji turned and prepared to move off also but was stopped in doing so when a small hand grabbed onto his bare arm. Not even bothering to turn around Renji addressed the owner of this hand.

"What do you want?" Renji asked to which Rukia once again felt the sting as he talked to her so informally and coldly, could he really have been so badly affected that he would change his actions towards her so drastically? She solidified her resolve however and pressed onwards.

"To know why you are doing this" Rukia stated to him. It was nt a question nor was it a plea it was almost bordering on a demand. Renji thought of how ironic that Rukia's nature could still hold true to such a situation as this one. Nonetheless he realised that an answer would be appropriate, it was not as if he had to hide his objective, they were all after the same thing.

"I am doing this to save Inoue. Ichigo saved you when you were to be executed, you were precious to me and I done all I could, yet he went against every order to try and save you. I am repaying the debt, I don't care how but I will help him save Inoue" Renji said as he stared directly down at the one who would have his love. She still had it, of that there was no doubt; it was just much more strained than it had been before. Without much further ado Renji leapt from where he was standing into the Soul society and bounded off in the direction that the girls had went.

* * *

Rukia stood there in stunned silence and the other three members of the group were unsure if there was anything that they could really say in light of the situation. Sado would not say anything as it was not his place; relationships were between people and the business of no-one else but themselves. Uryu was placing his full attention on the events unfolding within the Soul Society, the levels of spiritual pressure were certainly on an aggressive level. Matsumoto was however thinking over what had just happened before her, the small woman had been crushed, although she knew Renji and knew it was not his intention. He had done just that, he had crushed Rukia psychologically.

"Rukia-Chan…" Matsumoto said softly to which the smaller woman lifted her head and Matsumoto could see that there were tears in her eyes, distinct and destroyed. She looked as if she had indeed just been destroyed, like her heart had been taken out and beaten in front of her.

"Can't I do anything right?" Rukia asked almost despairingly. "I can't do anything right!" Rukia screamed as she fell to her hands and knees and stared at the ground as her tears impacted with it. "Why can't I get anything right!" Rukia screamed as she stared at the ground below her hazy vision. She smashed her fist into the ground. "I can't help anyone! I can't help Inoue! I can't help Ichigo! I can't even help Renji! What is wrong with me!" Rukia roared as she slammed her fist into the ground repeatedly, drawing blood eventually.

Her fist went plummeting towards the ground once again until she felt it being stopped by something; she knew it was not the ground as the position of her arm meant it was not that. She also knew that it was something soft, peaking through her hazed vision she could see the trademark white and blue of one of her companions and knew what it was that had stopped her hand. His hand had stopped her one from smashing into the ground. As she looked up to his face she could barely see the faintest hints of understanding on his face through her vision.

Uryu knew how she felt, how could he not? He knew what it was like to watch as your comrades fought onwards through trials they should not have to face alone. But more often than not it would be a situation where all he could do would be get in the way, that was what it was like on top of Las Noches, he could not fight alongside Ichigo against Ulquiorra, if he had tried all that would have happened would be Ichigo would worry about him and have his attention divided.

The sight before him was not one he ever expected to see. To see Rukia on her hands and knees in despair was not a vision Uryu had ever seen. She was always so proud, so sure of herself, so unstoppable that it seemed like nothing could bring her down. As he looked at her now though he realised just how naïve he was being with himself. Everyone has a weakness, whether it be a person or an object, everyone had a weakness; it appeared that Rukia's weakness was in fact Renji, his pain was her Kryptonite.

"Kuchiki-san, you do get things right, there are just some things that cannot be controlled" Uryu tried to say to the woman who looked like she was not even listening to him, despite the fact that he was still holding onto her clenched fist.

"I could have controlled this one though, this was Renji, the man who put me above himself far too much" Rukia said while Uryu went silent, this was not a time to speak, but to listen. "I ignored him, I was selfish and only thought of myself at a time when it was not only me that would have been in pain, I deserve this" Rukia finally admitted to herself while Uryu simply looked at her in shock. Resigning was not something that Rukia Kuchiki done.

"I see, I never knew that Shinigami gave up this easily, if this is what you Shinigami are truly like then I am somewhat glad that Ichigo is no longer one of you, you disgust me" Uryu said flatly as he stood up to his full height. Matsumoto looked at the Quincy archer in pure shock which turned to fury as she registered what it was that he had just said.

"What the Hell are you talking abo-" Matsumoto began to yell before she was cut off from a much deeper voice in a tone no-one had ever dreamed of hearing.

"SILENCE!" roared the massive form of the Mexican man who was amidst their ranks. Matsumoto was so shocked by his sudden and loud interruption that she was stunned into silence as she looked at the form of Sado which did seem to be radiating some amount of spiritual pressure from it. "Sitting here will get you nowhere Rukia, you have to fight for what you want" Sado said in a heated voice as he began to walk towards the massive hole in the wall.

Matsumoto could not comprehend this. What was going on? Renji had turned on them, Uryu had so suddenly spoken harshly to Rukia and now even the gentle giant of Sado was losing his calm and exploding like that. The world was going mad; it was as if everything she thought she knew was going to hell.

Rukia was not holding up much better, the verbal assault from Uryu had hurt her of course but the way in which Sado had spoken to her held so much contempt and anger directed at her that she felt almost vulnerable at the mercy of those words. It stung her to realise what it was they were doing. Through their harsh words they were trying to stimulate her, it did not mean that it didn't hurt. Uryu had moved from his position in front of her to move over to where Sado was currently standing.

"If you do ever feel like showing us some worth as Shinigami you will find us in the thick of the fight, we will save Inoue or we will die trying" Uryu said without even turning to the two Shinigami who were both stunned at the sudden turn of actions from both men, there was no way they were going to act like this to them was there? Not after all they had been through, especially Matsumoto and Sado, they had shared something special, there was no way he would forget that.

"My only interest just now is to save Inoue and to help Ichigo however I can, if you still wish to carry on with us then you must also follow Ichigo" Sado said as he too did not turn around to them. With that Matsumoto's hopes that he was joking were gone, he spoke like that when he meant it, and regrettably he meant everything that he said. With that the two men looked at each other before nodding heads and sprinting forwards on towards the battle that raged on.

All that Rukia and Matsumoto could do was watch as the two men of their group slowly but surely left them. Matsumoto could only mutter one word as she felt it almost dying on her lips. "Sado…"

* * *

_**Earlier, 6**__**th**__** Division Barracks**_

For a time, nothing. Nothing happened between them. They simply stood with their abilities ready at their disposal. A wind swept through the garden within which they stood, carrying a few of the Sakura petals with it. The wind swept Ichigo and Byakuya's hair in the respective direction to which they stood.

Ichigo stared at Byakuya with a smile on his face, not a warm smile but neither was it an evil smile, it was simply a pleasant smile that had Byakuya somewhat apprehensive of charging at Ichigo. This was the man who had changed so much for him after all and Byakuya did owe him a lot. That was taking into account whther he believed this was still the Ichigo Kurosaki that he had indeed knew in the past, although his reason for being in Soul Society was something Byakuya based his belief on. He reasoned that no hollow would start a fight with Soul Society for a woman.

That however presented even more problems. If this was indeed the Kurosaki Ichigo from what he remembered of the young man then this was going to be no less than a tough fight that he was not even sure he would pull through.

Feeling the levels of spiritual pressure rising all around them, from both Shinigami and Arrancar alike, Byakuya felt a sad grin spread across his face. Ichigo saw this unexpected smile upon Byakuya's face and was somewhat taken aback, why on earth would Byakuya be smiling at a time like this. Putting aside the fact he barely ever smiled, but he was smiling at a time where Ichigo could feel the power of his allies increasing to levels capable of fighting captains.

"What has brought one of these rare smiles onto your face?" Ichigo asked the man before him, Byakuya did not respond instantly as he closed his eyes and gave out a heavy sigh.

"Leave it to you to find a group of strong allies and then break into a stronghold that has prided itself with only ever being broken into once, by you again" Byakuya said as he finally looked up to Ichigo and he swore that he almost saw another smile on his face. "This time however there is nothing I have to come to my senses about, so I am afraid that I must fight you back for the safety of this realm and indeed the human one as well" Byakuya finished as he made all of his Senbonzakura petals rise up behind him.

Ichigo saw this show of power and felt a grin spreading under his mask. Byakuya was not going to disappoint by the looks of things. He was taking this seriously. This made Ichigo happy as it at least showed Byakuya realised Ichigo was on the same level as him, in power at the least. Ichigo then looked to his blade that he held in his hand, it's clear surface shining off the light that the moon graced the land with.

* * *

'alright guys let's make this quick, I want to find Orihime quickly and get out of here with little casualties' Ichigo spoke into his mind towards his hollow and the Hogyoku, Zangetsu did not even reply, still in his depressed mood.

_I concur; let us get out of here quickly before we really have something to worry about_ the Hogyoku answered to which Shiro raised his eyebrow in question. What else did they really have to worry about? The captain who was one of ichigo's greatest rivals was right before them, what else could possibly go wrong.

What you talking about 'Yoku? What else is there to really worry about?The alabaster man asked in question. With his question out both entities within Ichigo's mind turned to him with stupefied looks on their faces. Even Zangetsu took the time out to come out of his depressed atmosphere to look at the hollow with a look of incredulity. What? Shiro asked indignantly as the two continued to stare at him.

**Captain Commander** Zangetsu said while Hogyoku simply stood next to the Zanpaktou spirit with his arms folded and nodding his head. Shiro looked between the two spirits with a confused look on his face. Still not understanding what was going on Shiro spoke his mind.

Ok, you told me a title, any real reason behind that? Shiro said to the two before they looked at each other and gave a sigh of resignation.

_You wanna take this one, might let you get back at him too _Hogyoku said to Zangetsu as the Zanpaktou spirit gained a grin of sheer malice that the hollow spirit – one that is made simply from fear, hatred and malice – was slowly finding himself moving backwards away from. In short Zangetsu could not wait to get to the point.

Ah shit! Come on guys! I don't get it! Shiro pleaded to the two other spirits as Zangetsu moved forwards with his grin getting even larger and Hogyoku's face only taking on an exasperated look. Soon enough the scene had changed into one where Shiro was running for his life while Zangetsu chased him, swinging his Zanpaktou at the hollow spirit as it tried its hardest to get away.

Hogyoku sighed heavily before he began speaking again. _Sorry master, we will train him one day, I just think he lets his mouth work before his brain catches up. As I was saying though, I agree we better finish what we must do here before Yammamoto Genryusai comes out _Hogyoku says to Ichigo as Ichigo was left to nod dumbly in the real world.

* * *

"What are you nodding at Kurosaki?" Byakuya asked in slight irritation, the man had been standing there staring into nothing for the last few moments and now he was nodding for no apparent reason, although there should have been no reason to be, he was slightly annoyed. With his question however it seemed as if something had snapped within the mind and attention of Ichigo as he shook his head slightly before turning his attention to his enemy again.

"Sorry, my tenants are rather rambunctious spirits and sometimes distract me, their antics are funny sometimes though" Ichigo admitted as he smiled across at his enemy. "Don't worry though, that was the last time you will get a chance like that to attack me while I am distracted" Ichigo said as he lowered himself to a fighting stance that was ready to leap at his opponent or leap in order to avoid an attack.

"I would not attack you while you are distracted Kurosaki" Byakuya retorted in a manner that made Ichigo feel as if he had said something highly offensive to Byakuya. Seriously it was as if what he had just said trampled on his toes something fierce. To this fierce reply Ichigo could only come back with the most intelligent answer he had at the time.

"Huh?" he asked as he looked over towards the 6th division captain who had his eyes overcast by the shadow of his hair. Ichigo was watching this in honest surprise, Byakuya was taking this exceedingly badly, to a level Ichigo had never seen the man take anything before.

"I would not attack you while you are distracted, while it is not an honourable move in the first place, I would still not have done it if this was not an honourable fight" Byakuya said scathingly and Ichigo almost felt as if those words were said in both anger and sadness. Seeing emotion on the 6th division captain's voice and face was something very confusing for Ichigo to see.

"How do you mean?" Ichigo asked as he could hear the after effects of whatever was going on in his mind.

* * *

Zangetsu I get it! Captain Commander, the leader of all Shinigami equals bad! Now stop trying to kill me! Shiro screamed in ichigo's mind as the Zanpaktou spirit did not listen. **You may have that information beaten into your brain now, but now it is my chance to get back at you!** The Zanpaktou spirit yelled as it continued to chase the hollow spirit. Leaving Hogyoku to face palm slightly _honestly, it's a wonder how Ichigo-sama managed to survive with you two_ hogyoku lamented mostly to himself as the two spirits continued their game of cat and mouse.

* * *

"I simply mean that I would not stoop to such levels as taking you unawares, you have shown me a level of commitment and determination I find it hard to locate in many of my current allies and even captains. You are one of the very few men who I have come to respect, and because of that I will never fight you in such dishonourable ways" Byakuya said as the pi9nk petals were still in formation behind him.

"What if I were to fight dishonourably though?" Ichigo asked as he clenched his fist that was not currently holding on to his crystallised weapon. Byakuya actually smiled at what Ichigo had said and almost caused Ichigo to fall on his face due to the sight he had just witnessed.

"Despite the fact I doubt you of all people would suddenly fight dishonourably, unless you are no longer Ichigo Kurosaki, then I would still fight you honourably, it does not matter to me, it is what feels right and I shall follow that, even if it means my death" Byakuya finished as he then raised his arms from his side and gained a reaction as the petals behind him raised up into the air, mimicking his arms movements.

"Well you are in luck Kuchiki Byakuya, because I am Kurosaki Ichigo, God of all Hollows" Ichigo said as he watched Byakuya's face register his words. Such words were enough to make even him who had enough respect for Ichigo as it was, to find whole new reasons to respect the man before him. To have the entirety of all hollows to view him as a God only spoke levels of how far Ichigo had come. Not only since he had been a Shinigami, but ever since Byakuya had last seen him and been forced to fight him in the real world. Though he felt that he had done the right thing, otherwise the whole reason for Ichigo being in Soul Society would not have made sense.

* * *

"Let's go" was all Byakuya said in warning before he had sent his right arm forward and sent a tendril of pink petals towards Ichigo. Not to be caught off guard so soon Ichigo leapt up into the air as the petals passed right under him. With a simple movement of Byakuya's arm however the direction of the petals changed until they were once again racing towards him. Ichigo smiled as this brought back memories of the past fight he had with Byakuya. He could not reminisce for long however as the tendril of petals demanded his immediate attention.

Ichigo drew some spiritual pressure into his left hand; his hand began to glow with red spiritual pressure before he formed a fist and sent a small ball of condensed spiritual pressure at the incoming tendril of petals. The Bala impacted with the petals and managed to disperse them, this however presented a new problem as Byakuya brought his other arm into play and formed the now disperse petals into all new tendrils.

Ichigo landed on the ground again and had to look up as the impeding tendrils of petals began to descend down upon him. Bracing himself he slashed outwards as the individual tendrils closed in on him, managing to deal with them with surprising speed, despite not using the abilities of his Zanpaktou's Bankai form.

As his last swipe tore through the air Ichigo looked up to the surprised face of Byakuya. The man had clearly not expected him to be capable of doing that once again, without the aid of his Bankai either. His surprise was quickly masked however as a small smile played upon his face. He knew that things would be harder but he had not anticipated Ichigo to retain his abilities to such a degree.

Ichigo stood up straight before he leapt upwards. Byakuya watched his movements in anticipation of his next move. It was once Ichigo began descending at a rapid rate did Byakuya do anything to help himself. Just as Ichigo had reached him Byakuya raised his arm and pointed the index and middle finger on his right hand towards the torso of Ichigo. It was at that moment that Ichigo felt his blood run cold; he felt a spiritual pressure or to be exact a collection of spiritual pressures that were closing in on his position, ones he did not want there at any rate. Ichigo was momentarily confused until he saw the dull glow of blue beginning to get brighter as small arcs of electricity began to bounce between the tips of both fingers.

"Byakurai!" Byakuya called out as the lightning that had collected on his fingers then shot outwards towards its intended target. Ichigo, who was too mesmerised by that attack, was unable to move in time as the super fine beam of lightning moved towards him at speeds even he could not reach. It was too late when he finally realised what was going to happen, and in that time the beam of lightning had already passed through his body.

Ichigo grunted in apparent pain as his hand shot to the area of his wound. He had become too careless and possibly arrogant, deluding himself into thinking that Byakuya was not as strong as him. While this may be true, Byakuya was no pushover and would not simply take any beating, no he would fight back.

"I did not think I would get you with that again Kurosaki" Byakuya said somewhat disappointed. He had honestly expected that if the boy had the gall to break into Soul Society again, surely the boy would have been better trained for it?

"Sorry, got a little distracted" Ichigo replied as he focused on Byakuya again. He knew now that he would have to finish this fight soon, otherwise things could very possibly turn from bad to worse, and knowing his luck it would indeed happen. With renewed vigour Ichigo shook himself as he tried to get rid of his numbness in his chest area.

It was after he re-gained feeling in his chest area that he made his next move. Lifting his crystal sword and extending it outwards Ichigo continued to watch Byakuya. His next move had Byakuya watching him in slight confusion once again. From Ichigo's hand the crystal sword began to disintegrate, turning back into the dust upon the ground. Byakuya continued to watch this until the entire sword was gone and Ichigo was left standing with his arm outstretched.

"What are you doing Kurosaki?" Byakuya asked as the man looked up at him. The mask still somewhat troubled Byakuya although he had to admit that with a title like 'God of all Hollows' it would only really make sense now. That still did not make the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach lessen one bit.

"I think it would only be honourable for me to fight you with what I did in the past, I shall use my Zanpaktou to fight you" Ichigo said to the captain before him who slightly nodded his head in understanding. He was actually rather glad that Ichigo was taking this as an honour bound battle. He had not intended it as such, but it was nice to see Ichigo acting in such a manner, it proved he was at least partly still the same boy/man he had known in the past.

* * *

**YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS! It's about time! **Roared Zangetsu in the back of Ichigo's mind, Ichigo even cringed a bit at the level of the roar that had just raced through his head. Zangetsu could be pretty loud when he wanted to be that and if he was happy.

* * *

Ichigo smiled softly under his mask, it was never his intention to neglect the Zanpaktou spirit like he had. Yet to hear the way that Zangetsu reacted when he was finally getting used made Ichigo almost chuckle lightly, it was almost like everything that had made Zangetsu in the past, his wisdom, his age and his maturity had disappeared. He flipped over his already outstretched arm and had his palm facing the sky above.

"Slice at the moons and the heavens, Zangetsu!" Ichigo called out as the massive cleaver slowly formed out of his palm. The blade was literally slowly moving out of his hand before he pushed lightly and caused the Zanpaktou to jump. With Zangetsu's descent Ichigo then grabbed onto the handle of his massive cleaver and held his Zanpaktou at his side. With the darkened bladed edge shining off the light coming from the moon above, Ichigo prepared to use the Zanpaktou he had only used to fight his own father so far. In his head he could hear Zangetsu running around like a kid in a candy store, with Hogyoku trying to calm him down, to no avail obviously.

"Your Zanpaktou! How is that possible! It should not exist after you had passed away, if anything you should have gained a Zanpaktou much like an Arrancar's!" Byakuya called out to Ichigo who simply swiped his Zanpaktou through the air happily before he gave his response to the 6th division captain.

"Well, there are a lot of things that cannot be explained, questions that can never be answered, I just happen to be both of those things, I am unexplainable and unanswerable. I am sorry Kuchiki Byakuya but I must bring this fight to an end soon, I wish to be on the move again soon" Ichigo said as Byakuya watched him unflinchingly. Ichigo had to give him his dues, after being told things the likes of which Ichigo had just said, he himself would have been worried. Byakuya was however either very strong willed or was very good at putting up a façade. Either way it was impressive to Ichigo and he remembered now why he respected the captain quite so much, even if it had come grudgingly in the past.

"Very well" Byakuya answered simply as he closed his eyes and Ichigo felt a familiar feeling coming over him. The whole area within which they stood grew darker and then all around them they were surrounded by pink katana, in two large rings around them. It was then that Byakuya opened his eyes. A katana fell from one of the rings and was caught once Byakuya had shot his hand out in order to catch the falling blade, once it touched his hand the pink glow faded away and revealed Senbonzakura in its unreleased form. "Senkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi"

* * *

Their battle resumed with a thunderous clash. Ichigo's Zanpaktou meeting with Byakuya's with full force, trying his best to win out over the captain. With a roar that was reflected on his mask Ichigo applied even more force into his attack and was rewarded when Byakuya's arm was forced to buckle under Ichigo's superior strength. With Byakuya slightly off-balance, Ichigo began to charge his spiritual pressure into his blade before swinging it in Byakuya's direction.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo roared out as he set the wave of spiritual pressure loose at an extremely close range to Byakuya. Despite how much Ichigo believed the attack to have been a sure shot victory; his opponent had managed to escape it, if only by the skin of his teeth. Byakuya had dropped his body to the floor when the crescent moon of spiritual pressure had come for him and allowed it to pass over his head. As the Getsuga continued onwards and finally collided with the rings surrounding them Byakuya got back to his feet.

Ichigo was not going to give up quite so easily however. After the swing he had stepped forward and with his arm outstretched and the manner in which Byakuya had dodged his attack, Byakuya was now standing behind him. As such, Ichigo spun around, bringing Zangetsu with him and only just managed to bring his Zanpaktou into play in order to parry an attack aimed for his chest.

Ichigo pushed outwards and caused Byakuya to jump backwards before landing and fixing him with a cold stare. Ichigo wasted no time and leapt towards him, slashing at Byakuya in varying arcs and directions. Byakuya was able to block them yes, but there were some that still managed to get through and left him with minor cuts and grazes at the most. With one last swipe at Byakuya, Ichigo stopped his onslaught to see just how his opponent was holding out.

To his utmost surprise, he found Byakuya breathing heavily but still able to stand and was even smiling slightly; if Ichigo were to have a wild guess he would have thought that Byakuya might even be enjoying this. Despite his numerous wounds that were bleeding onto his uniform Byakuya seemed to be almost at ease. When he looked up Ichigo saw something that he had not seen upon the usually stoic captain's face. Determination.

The second Byakuya's head had snapped up he had charged straight at Ichigo, with said red/orange haired man taken by surprise. Ichigo brought his Zanpaktou up just in time to stop the progress of Byakuya's Zanpaktou towards his stomach. He found that there was actually a surprising amount of force behind Byakuya's attack and he had to actually apply a great amount of his own strength to hold him at bay. With such proximity Ichigo decided to use one of his trump cards. As he held Byakuya at bay he applied his spiritual pressure to more useful ends, in between his hollow mask's horns for instance.

Byakuya saw the build-up of spiritual pressure collecting in between the horns on Ichigo's head and his eyes widened greatly. As the small red orb began to grow in size Byakuya tried desperately to put distance between himself and the man whom he was fighting, leaping backwards as far as his legs would allow. Ichigo's head then snapped forwards as the beam of spiritual pressure was released and at the same time added to the attack with his hollowfied roar.

Byakuya was in a real tight situation. It was as if time slowed down to accommodate his thinking process. The cero was already within distance that he could not feasibly use Shunpo to escape it, he could not recall Senbonzakura either as it would take too long for the petals to reach him. When he had finally come to a conclusion the cero was barely within an inch of his face.

What Ichigo saw next was not something he had ever expected he would see in his life, not that he would have went out of his way to do so that is. Opposite him Byakuya landed on the ground, kneeling in exhaustion and breathing deeply, blood was dripping down his body from the cuts and gashes from before as he breathed in deeply. The surprising thing for Ichigo at least was the way that he was dressed, or lack of clothing for that matter. You see, Byakuya had absolutely no clothing on his torso, the reason being what he had been forced into doing, the lightning dancing across his shoulders and back being a testament to that.

* * *

"Having to use a technique that that accursed woman taught me, you really have improved since last we fought Kurosaki" Byakuya praised as he stood up again and faced his opponent. Ichigo smiled under his mask, he knew how much it bugged Byakuya when he had to use one of the techniques that Yoruichi had taught him. With a deep breath Byakuya grabbed onto his Zanpaktou tighter before he stared at Ichigo once again, without much further ado Byakuya had leapt into the air and was once again upon Ichigo, slashing at him.

Ichigo had to be fast to react as with the added bonus of Shunko coursing all over the torso of Byakuya his speed was increased to a much greater degree. So it was with great luck that Ichigo managed to bring his Zanpaktou up and block Byakuya's downwards slash. Ichigo grunted at the force applied, he did not remember Byakuya being this strong in the past, sure he was strong, but never this physically strong to his knowledge. Byakuya lifted his Zanpaktou from Ichigo's causing Ichigo to push upwards more than he wanted to and in that moment Byakuya had landed on the ground. His next move was to drop down and with his left leg, swipe away both of Ichigo's.

Ichigo landed on his back in complete and utter surprise. He was unable to think upon this for too long however as a fist suddenly made itself known as it came into Ichigo's vision. Rolling to his left quickly Ichigo was just able to miss the left handed punch that was aimed for his face, when he got back to his feet however and looked to where Byakuya had punched he was again surprised. Byakuya's fist was still clenched and was in a deep crater in the ground where Ichigo had been only a few seconds ago. Byakuya noticed the absence of Ichigo and turned to the man.

"It would appear that your speed is still indeed impressive, I congratulate you Kurosaki" Byakuya said as he turned around and faced Ichigo again and once again Ichigo saw that look of determination. Byakuya had definitely changed, what Ichigo was more concerned about just now though was this sudden increase in physical strength, it was becoming slightly hazardous to be caught on the wrong side of it. Glancing back at the crater in the ground Ichigo deduced that if his head had still been there then that would have been one painful punch. No matter who or what he was, that one would hurt. Apparently noticing where Ichigo's attention was directed Byakuya spoke up.

"Over the last year as many others have been doing I have been training. Where most others have been training so that they can gain new abilities with their Zanpaktou and become more powerful, I do not like to depend on my Zanpaktou too much, as a result I have trained my body to increase the strength output, this way even without a Zanpaktou I shall be able to fight at a far greater level than I would have been able to before" Byakuya explained as it finally made sense to Ichigo. He would not have expected Byakuya to be the one to physically train his body, and then again who was he to judge?

"I also increased my endurance so I can fight for much longer than I could have before" Byakuya added as he swung his Zanpaktou through the air idly. This made much more sense as the vigour in which Byakuya had been attacking him made sense now too. Ichigo dug his feet into the ground below him as he prepared for another attack to come from Byakuya; it was looking increasingly like he was going to have to kill Byakuya to move on, despite his unwillingness to do so.

Byakuya leapt up into the air and descended towards Ichigo at great speed as expected. What was not expected was for one of the spiritual pressures of his comrades to drop significantly. Zakabe had gone down; Ichigo felt his concentration waning already. He knew Byakuya was coming towards him at great speed but his attention was already diverted. With great effort Ichigo managed to use Sonido in order to avoid the slash that came towards him. Once at a large enough distance Ichigo was able to think on what happened Zakabe's spiritual pressure was low but not at a level where his life was in peril.

* * *

With his mind cleared now Ichigo turned to face the speeding form of Byakuya that was closing in on him with a great amount of speed. Moving his own Zanpaktou into position Ichigo prepared to deflect this attack, yet another spiritual pressure dropped and this time there was no mistaking it, Sera's spiritual pressure had gone down to a dangerously low level. It was then that he made his biggest mistake in the whole time since regaining his human qualities.

"ZAKABE! SERA!" Ichigo roared as his attention was completely averted from Byakuya that was coming straight for him. it was too late when Ichigo realised that Byakuya was still attacking him with the intent to injure or at the very most kill. Once he realised this however there was a searing pain in his stomach. He looked down to see that the Zanpaktou within Byakuya's hand was deeply embedded within his flesh, so deep in fact that the guard of Byakuya's Zanpaktou was touching Ichigo's skin.

Ichigo grabbed onto the back of Byakuya's hand and gripped it tightly. Byakuya was able to hold on for so long until Ichigo began to literally crush his hand. He let go of his Zanpaktou and jumped back a few times, bringing another out from the ring of katana surrounding them. Ichigo, with his head bowed down began to breathe very heavily. At the same time as this there was a great build-up of spiritual pressure from the man before him, to levels Byakuya could not believe even existed.

Ichigo's head snapped backwards and his arms shot out leaving his arms out wide. With that Ichigo released a roar, a hollow roar that shook the very dome that they stood within. Byakuya could even feel the air pressure around him blowing strongly simply from the roar. As he continued roaring at the place where the sky would have been a column of multi-coloured spiritual pressure surrounded the form of Ichigo as he continued to roar at the sky.

The spiritual pressure smashed through the dome that was created in Byakuya's Senkei, causing all of the pink katana to disperse into the individual pink petals once again and making them all float over to Byakuya again. With his technique gone Byakuya was not able to more acutely feel the spiritual pressures around him. He felt the spiritual pressure of Ichigo rising to monstrous levels, but it was not only his. There was also another one that was rapidly growing; looking over in the direction Byakuya could see a column of spiritual pressure much like Ichigo's. This one was black though, pure midnight black.

Byakuya's attention was brought back to Ichigo as the spiritual pressure began to disperse and reveal his opponent. it was a form Byakuya had never seen before and he never did really want to see it. Ichigo still had his mask, his body had changed colour though to pure alabaster white, in his left hand was a white sword, like the one he had used at the start of the fight. In his right hand was the form of Tensa Zangetsu with the chain wrapping all the way up his arm. He was wearing the clothing he had been before, his large sleeveless trench coat that was slightly singed at the entrails and his pants that seemed to be fine actually.

Ichigo once again snapped his head forward and released a roar towards Byakuya that had the man almost shaking. Such power behind a roar, what else was in store?

He was about to find out as Ichigo leapt across the ground towards him at speed he could not see. In the blink of an eye Ichigo had appeared before Byakuya and a fist had been applied harshly to Byakuya's cheek, sending him through the air and into the wall of one of the nearby buildings. As he groaned and pulled himself out of the wall he could also hear as another creature went on a rampage, they were going to need a miracle if there were two things on a rampage, and Byakuya honestly was once agin finding their chances running slim. Nonetheless, he had a duty to uphold and as such he pulled himself out of the wall.

Dropping to the ground he raised his Zanpaktou and waited for Ichigo to make his way over. Byakuya would hold him back for as long as he possibly could, that way it would at least give him comrades a chance to prepare to fight this beast or get rid of the other one, either way Byakuya had a feeling that this was a suicide mission.

* * *

_Right then, here you guys go. I hope that you like this chapter. I tried to take Ceelia-18's idea and put in a non-fight scene, I dono if you guys liked it or not but I hope you did =]. Anyway I would like to clear this up before any confusion can take place. Ichigo has went berserk because he felt both Zakabe and Sera's spiritual pressure dropping, I know Zakabe gets back up but the moment Ichigo went berserk was the moment where Zakabe also went berserk. I hope that clears up any confusion if not leave it in a review or personal message. As always I hope that this was a good chapter as I appear to be doing poorly with my Naruto fic. _

_I hope the Byakuya vs Ichigo fight has been good so far too, I think I maybe hyped it up a bit too much for myself but don't worry the fight is not over between them yet. There will be at the most another one or two chapters of fighting, after that it may relax, so that is for those of you who maybe don't like all these chapters full of fighting. Anyway that it probably the largest rant I have went on after a chapter. I hope you enjoyed and look forward to my next chapter and I will try to get it out quickly for you guys. As always R&R please and I shall see you guys later, Sayonara until next time! =] - Varrukh_


	26. Chapter 26 Final Player

Zakabe attacked Zaraki as if he were a rabid animal that had been kept in a cage all of its life. He slashed and swiped wildly at Zaraki with very few of the attacks managing to reach Zaraki as he managed to dodge, even if it did take him a fair amount of effort to do so. It did not mean that Zaraki felt disappointed with the thing before him. Far from it, if he could dodge it so easily then it simply showed the levels of fury running through the creature before him. It also meant that if he were to stop dodging, then he would get one hell of a fight.

Zaraki grinned as this made sense in his head. He stopped his dodging and stood still. The creature before him noticed this instantly and dived in his direction. A Zanpaktou came screeching towards his face and Zaraki shot his own Zanpaktou outwards, clashing with the screeching blade coming towards his face. He managed to stop it, only with a great application of his own physical strength. With them standing so close Zaraki could finally see the creature before him, he had been a blur until this point.

Everything about the creature before him was black. The clothing which had previously been white had turned black in colour. His mask was also black in colour with green markings running across the eyeholes. Even looking at the skin that was barely hidden by the clothing he wore, it was black too with intricate green tattoos running across his body; they looked like intricate vines that reached to every point on his body. Zaraki was unable to see any more as with a snarl he was forced backwards with his feet even skidding along the ground.

"Wow, here I thought I fought strong in Hueco Mundo, you put that Espada to shame!" Zaraki called out to Zakabe. He did not expect much of a reply if the way the creature was acting was anything to go by. He was correct in his assumption as it simply leapt at him again, its intent clear as day. With Zanpaktou above its head in both hands, it was clear to see where it was going to direct its attack. Zaraki prepared for the inevitable but was taken completely by surprise. In between the horns on the hollow mask, green spiritual pressure had begun to congregate and the size was beginning to increase.

He had no chance to evade such a strike and he knew better than to try and stand up to something like that. As strong as he was he knew he would not stand a chance against a cero from this creature. He would just have to rely on his rudimentary level of Shunpo to save his life this time. Yet, before he could even do anything he was saved the bother as an ice dragon ploughed into the side of the creature and sent the cero shooting off into the sky.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Zaraki asked gruffly to the dragon that suddenly landed next to him after sending the hollow flying into a building of to their left. Zaraki looked at the hollow with slight surprise and even respect, by the way things had been looking it was running on pure instinct yet it was acting almost cunning when it had been ready to use a cero on him like that.

"Even you must be capable of seeing there is no chance that you can beat him yourself" Toshiro spoke coldly as he simply stared at where he had roughly placed the enemy. He felt no guilt in it and hoped it would keep the Arrancar down, yet was realistic enough to realise that would not happen.

"Who ever said anythin' bout' beating him? I only want to fight him" Zaraki replied no less than annoyed to the ice dragon beside him. all he ever wanted to do was to fight with his enemies, yet everyone else always just wanted to kill them. No-one was fun anymore, he wished Ichigo was still human, and then he could ask him for a fight and maybe have a little fun for once.

"We can't keep them alive, if they are both able to run rampant around Soul Society, they will destroy it" Toshiro admonished, wishing he had not been stuck trying to help the most hard-headed of all of the captains. However there was something that registered to Zaraki in what Toshiro had said and he turned to the dragon in confusion.

"What do you mean 'them'?" Zaraki asked and Toshiro looked at the captain as if he were some form of idiot. How could he not tell that there was a spiritual pressure just as potent if not more so than the one he was facing just now?

"This creature and Ichigo Kurosaki, they are both on the rampage" Toshiro answered. Deciding it better to point everything out straight forward so that it would be made clear very quickly. They had to deal with both threats soon or else risk the safety of Soul Society.

"Ichigo is here too? Who the hell is he fighting with?" Zaraki asked, clearly irritated that it was not him that was getting to fight with Ichigo. It was one of the few things that he wanted to do and someone was denying him the chance to do it.

"Captain Kuchiki I think" Toshiro answered shortly, he could see the movement in the crater he had made with Zakabe. The black form was getting out of the crater slowly and looked directly at them.

"Damn that Byakuya! He always gets the fun fig-" Zaraki began to yell before there was a crash and through the wall came a body, quickly followed by a white blur. The body that had come through the wall slowed down enough to stop on the next wall in its path and blasted back towards the white blur. For the moment that they had stopped Zaraki and Toshiro had seen who it was.

"Byakuya, Damnit to hell! That should be my fight!" Zaraki yelled before the black blur was suddenly right in front of him with its Zanpaktou raised. "Still wanting to go do you?" Zaraki asked in a strained voice as he had only just stopped the attack and there was a great amount of force being applied against him. A grin spread across his face however. "This could still be fun!" Zaraki yelled as he forced outwards against Zakabe and restarted their swordplay once again.

Toshiro watched as two titanic battles raged on before him. Try as much as he liked he would not deny how impressed he was with both captains. Byakuya was fighting against an absolute beast of an adversary even in the past when he broke into Soul Society he was strong, now he was a monster. Then the thing that Zaraki was holding off against was the Demon Lord and now King of Hueco Mundo. It was clear that Byakuya and Zaraki did deserve their places as captains. Huge blasts of spiritual pressure were sent off with every impact of Zanpaktou meeting Zanpaktou.

* * *

Toshiro's battle senses kicked into overdrive and he leapt to the left instinctively. It was a good thing that he had done so because once he looked over to his left again to see what had made him move like that he found himself completely surprised. It looked like a third version of Ichigo and Zakabe. This one though was different, it had no Zanpaktou, yet the spiritual pressure coming from the creature was undeniable, it was a hollow.

Looking at it he could see that it was a predominantly black armoured creature with intricate flame designs on the legs and other designs on the right arm with a pool of spiritual pressure collecting behind the shoulder of the right arm. The left arm however was completely white with red markings but this one had electrical currents so strong that they were visible arcing from the arm and even connecting with the ground the Arrancar was now standing on. Just what kind of hollows were there now ever since Ichigo had become one?

"Sorry Captain Hitsugaya, but we can't allow you to interfere with their fights" Toshiro heard from behind him and upon turning around found he was looking down at the Last Quincy who was standing a few feet away with his arms crossed. Toshiro looked at the human in a confused manner; he couldn't be expecting to take on a captain if he was acting like that could he?

"Do you plan on stopping me Ishida Uryuu?" Toshiro asked as he raised an eyebrow towards the human. He also found it exceedingly surprising that there was a human able to stand so close to a hollow without the creature trying to eat him. perhaps thins with the Quincy had changed ever since he had last seen him, it had been over 6 months since he had been in the human world after all. Uryuu simply looked at him with an all-knowing smile on his face that worried Toshiro greatly.

"Me? Of course not, if I were to even attempt to attack you I would only get in his way" Uryu answered as he looked directly towards the face of Toshiro and saw Sado suddenly appearing right next to the head of the large ice dragon. "Isn't that right, Sado-Kun?" Uryu finished as Toshiro finally came to realise that the hollow was right next to his head. Without the time to contemplate his next move, there was a fist suddenly implanted directly into the right side of his jaw. Add to that the fact that there was a lot of spiritual pressure added to the punch, and then it only made things even more powerful and painful.

The punch was strong enough to lift the dragon from its feet and send it flying through the air until it impacted with the wall. Sado wasted no time and sprinted off towards the pile that had been created after he had hit the dragon into that wall.

From where Uryu was standing it was like watching a show of the most powerful forced of the spiritual realm with only one missing piece which would turn the favour horribly against them. There were three strong Shinigami captains against three creatures of strong Hollow powers. These battles were going to be titanic, however, Uryu worried about Zakabe and Ichigo, Sado could be calmed down but he wondered what would have to be done to stop Ichigo and Zakabe if they were to win their fights.

* * *

_**Hell**_

With her eyes closed she could almost imagine herself as being anywhere besides her current position. If she closed her eyes she could imagine herself being in that green meadow again, and it would be green this time, with all six of her Shun Shun Rikka floating around and playing around as if there were no problems in the world. Yet just like all dreams, things of such beauty and detail will be robbed from us at the worst of times.

So it was with great annoyance that Orihime found herself with her eyes once again re-opened with the presence of someone entering her room. The one that walked in was in fact her saviour, his alabaster features were not giving anything away about him as he made his way over to her. As grateful as she was to the man who had saved her, she could not help but feel there was something of foul play and as such watched him carefully.

"I see that old habits die old then?" Ulquiorra asked as he walked over towards her, at a slightly slower pace now that he had seen the mistrustful look in her eyes. She did not look away from him and continued to stare at him as he made his slower progress to her. He stopped a few feet away from her so not to scare her.

When she did not reply Ulquiorra simply continued on. "You have changed woman, I cannot blame you after spending so long in this place, but even then I thought your will was stronger" Orihime did not physically do anything yet Ulquiorra was surprised when he saw that there was a sudden and momentary glare that crossed her eyes. Inwardly he was actually proud of her; she had finally shown that she was prepared to fight back.

"What do you want?" Orihime asked finally as she stared directly into Ulquiorra's green eyes. Her voice carried such grace and beauty yet also held authority. He would not deny he was surprised, before he had brought her to this room she had seemed like a scared little girl, yet once he had returned she seemed completely changed. It was like she had grown up.

"Naturally you should be wary of me walking into the room you inhabit, yet this is my room and as such I am returning to my quarters" Ulquiorra answered shortly and saw the look of disgusted understanding crossing over Orihime's face.

"So you beat the other guy and claim the prize, is that how things work in Hell?" Orihime spoke in nothing less than a disgusted voice. She hated this place, she really did. Ulquiorra once again was surprised with the change in the woman, she had always seemed so optimistic, yet just now it was not optimism that was in her voice, it was hate. Something he had never seen on her face despite the things she had gone through in Hueco Mundo. Hell must just be that much worse than Hueco Mundo.

"Technically you are correct woman, it is usually first to claim the prize is the owner here" Ulquiorra answered honestly. Orihime snorted in evident distaste at the insinuation. She was not going to become someone's prize; she was a woman who was not going to allow her body to become someone's possession.

"So I take it that means I am now your prize?" Orihime basically spat in his was clear to Ulquiorra that the incident which had almost occurred had definitely scarred and changed the woman before him. He felt his blood beginning to boil at the words she had spoken, to think so little of him angered him slightly. He felt his body reacting yet when he looked to her face he stopped.

Her face was still slightly swollen from the attacks Volak had unleashed upon her. He felt his sudden anger abating slightly; he had seen her like that before, when Loly and Menoly had angrily attacked her as he fought Ichigo. He had to concede that, at least then they only beat her, Volak had almost committed the most disgusting act any creature could enact.

"Under normal circumstances yes, you would have become my possession" Ulquiorra answered to which Orihime looked at him in hatred, he could not blame her, words like that should never be used to describe another person, he realised it now. "These are not normal circumstances though…" Orihime's eyes softened slightly as her confusion clearly shone through. If that was the case then should she not be Ulquiorra's prize if the rules he spoke about applied? Seeing her confusion he continued on. "You were already claimed before you had even arrived here, you were very desirable to the one who brought you here" he finished as understanding dawned on Orihime. Her memory branched off to the man who had sat upon a throne of skulls.

Orihime stood up from the bed she had been lying on and walked towards Ulquiorra. He could see the look in her eyes that screamed to him that she was dangerous. "I don't like the thought of being someone's possession you know" Orihime began as she actually walked past Ulquiorra and towards the door in the room. "The thought of someone controlling my body, my actions, my every move and emotions" Orihime continued as she turned away from the door and looked at Ulquiorra who had turned as she walked past him.

Suddenly Orihime was right in front of him with her face barely even inches from his own, there was a smile on her face that seemed much more sinister than any he thought would have been on her face. "Let's just say the only man who can even claim to have anywhere near that level of control over me is not in Hell" Orihime finished as she then walked back to the bed she had been on for a while now, leaving Ulquiorra utterly surprised.

When he looked up at the figure of Orihime walking away from him towards the bed he could have sworn that he saw a glint of light behind her ears where her hairclips kept her hair back. Once Orihime had made it over to the bed once again she sat on it and looked directly at Ulquiorra and he was completely surprised to see that her swollen face was completely healed, her beautiful smile was on her face yet after what he had seen and heard Ulquiorra just knew that it was a mask now.

"So tell me, when have I to meet my betrothed?" Orihime spoke in such a sickly sweet voice that Ulquiorra was sure there were demons of hatred that would take their hats off to her. Orihime would never leave Hell the woman that she was before. He sighed slightly looking down to the ground. "Ulquiorra, I'm still waiting" Orihime spoke after a few moments as Ulquiorra looked up, surprised he had been idle for a few moments.

"He has only asked that you be looked after for two months, so that would mean you shall probably see him then, unless he feels fit to meet you before then" Ulquiorra finally answered bitterly, Orihime heard this but found she was not too worried if he sounded bitter, she was the one who was pulling the short straw here, not him.

"Very well" was Orihime's curt reply and once Ulquiorra looked up he could see that Orihime was sitting on the bed with her hands on her lap looking, content? How could she not care what was going to happen? Why was she acting so calmly about the whole thing? She was in Hell and was going to be claimed by a demon. How do you act so casual knowing things like that?

"I have duties to attend to so I shall leave you for now" Orihime looked up at him with her fake smile and nodded at him in mock happiness, Ulquiorra could see this becoming regularity and he was not looking forward to it. With that on his mind he exited the room to do as he was supposed to and do as his master asked of him, God only knew what he was going to be asked to do next.

With Ulquiorra finally out of the room Orihime fell backwards onto her bed. She felt slightly light-headed, what she had just acted like was so out of character for her, yet she felt a heat in her body that she had not felt for a while. The heat made her feel safe and without really thinking about it she closed her eyes and felt unconsciousness taking her away from her personal Hell.

* * *

When her eyes opened once again she found herself back in the green meadow that she had dreamt of in the past. A beautiful landscape that was only disturbed by the occasional tree or the river that seemed to run through the centre of the meadow. Orihime smiled as she took in the scent and feel of the place and found that it gave her warmth and comfort, something she really did need right now.

She felt a presence right behind her and almost jumped out of her skin. The feeling she got from whoever it was calmed her, it was as though the very aura this person exuded calmed her down completely. As she stood in place she suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist. These arms, they made her feel so safe, so secure, like there was no force in the world that could possibly harm her.

She closed her eyes and sighed contently as she simply allowed the heat from the arms calm her down. After a few moments she could feel the weight of a head leaning upon her left shoulder and when she turned to look at it she found a head of orange hair lying upon her shoulder. Her smile widened as she realised just who it was that was holding her in such a loving embrace, it was Ichigo. She closed her eyes as she simply allowed her mind to accept that he was there.

"Orihime-Sama" Orihime opened her eyes to see that there was someone standing in front of her. They were taller than her and clad in mostly black with two wing-like protrusions coming from its back. The only thing that was different about him was that there was no mask on his face. It was one of her Shun Shun Rikka, Tsubaki.

"Tsubaki-Kun!" Orihime cried out as she ran forward and embraced the manifestation of her powers. She did not even realise that she had ran away from Ichigo's embrace and for that matter that he had faded into nothing, being no more than a part of her imagination. Tsubaki smiled as she hugged into him and felt a light chuckle rolling of his tongue.

"Yes and this time, I am not alone" Tsubaki spoke as he let go of Orihime and stepped back in order to reveal to Orihime the five other manifestations of her powers, they were all there and they were all as big and in some cases even bigger than Orihime.

"Ayame-Chan, Baigon-Kun, Hinagiku-Kun, Lily-Chan, Shun'o-Kun!" Orihime called out happily as she ran to each of them respectively and hugged them fiercely, she was afraid she would have never seen any of them again, but they were all here now and that was all that mattered to her right now. They all smiled fondly at the happy orangette, it was clear by their very existence here that she had become stronger. Even if it was not physical strength she had managed to bring about a level of mental strength that she would need to survive here.

"Orihime-Sama, as much as we would all love to speak with you and get re-acquainted, time is of the essence" Tsubaki spoke quickly before any of the other spirits could start to tearfully confess to Orihime how much they missed her. Though they were all equally stung by the manner that Tsubaki had stopped such a reunion they had to admit that he was correct and that it was nice to see him much more calm and caring.

Orihime turned to the more aggressive spirit of the six and smiled at his now revealed face, had he not been one of the representations of her power she might have even considered him attractive. Besides that however she knew that she would have to ask what was going to happen now, she had to get out of Hell. Of that there was no doubt but she knew she needed the help of her full powers to do so.

"What will we do then Tsubaki-Kun?" Orihime asked the black-clad spirit softly as the spirit simply grinned towards her. She would have found it sinister if it were not for the fact that she was almost sure that she could feel the heat coming from his smile, or maybe that was just her face heating up, either way it seemed to make her feel happy.

Tsubaki brought his hand up to his chin and cupped it while cocking his head to the side a bit and looked as if he were thinking. "Well, ever since you have left Soul Society your defensive and healing abilities have been second to none" Tsubaki said as he walked towards her and then started to circle around her. "The whole reason for that was because of your willingness to learn how to improve upon those skills, since you wanted to learn so badly and believed in your ability to do so, you succeeded" Tsubaki continued as he circled Orihime one full time before he stood right behind her. "Thus you have nothing left to learn in those fields…" Tsubaki left off as Orihime listened to see if he had any more to say.

What she had not expected was for there to be a sudden and abrupt pain in her lower back, the kind that made her vision flash momentarily and caused her to fall to the ground. She heard the muffled gasps of the five other spirits, yet they did not move from where they stood. As Orihime lay on her stomach and held a hand over the afflicted area of pain she could hear the movements as Tsubaki moved up from behind her until he was standing over her. "A shield is useless if broken, there must always be a sword ready to attack and time left to recover" Tsubaki spoke into her ear, Orihime let loose a muffled groan as the pain in her lower back subsided.

"What you have done until now is provided the shield and the time to recover for yourself, while asking that someone else act as your sword. This only works if you have someone to act as your sword, which you do not have here in Hell" Tsubaki spoke harshly now as he stood up straight again. He was loathe to do something like this to his mistress, but she needed it in order to mature both physically and mentally on a plane enough to survive and possibly even break out of this place.

Orihime groaned again, but this time it was not in pain but in sadness. He was right, she had no-one to save her anymore, and she would have to fight for herself from now on. She doubted even Isshin, despite taking on the role as her father, would even be able to reach Hell. She knew he would try but she would prefer it if he were to not do so, she would escape herself and prove to everyone that she was not weak, that she did not need to be saved all of the time.

"I know I don't have that luxury here, that's why I asked you what will we do, how will you make me stronger?" Orihime asked as she got to her feet again, standing tall and looking at the back of the spirit who had floored her so easily. He was not looking at her as he currently was looking at the five other spirits, he could see their mixed looks of both anger and fury towards his actions. He sighed, they might chew him out for his actions but he knew that they understood and to a certain extent agreed to what he was doing, otherwise they would have intervened by now.

"That all depends…" Tsubaki once again left off as he twisted and disappeared in what looked like Shunpo and was suddenly behind Orihime with a foot ready to kick right at her face. "…on how strong you want to get" Tsubaki finished as he delivered the kick directly towards the face of Orihime. He was pleasantly rewarded when he felt the strength of an arm stopping his kick. Dropping to the ground he realised that in fact Orihime had covered her forearm in her shield. That was not what had his full gaze though, her eyes were what had him caught, and they were concentrated and determined.

"Tsubaki-Kun… I want to get as strong as you can make me in two months" Orihime answered as she got ready to go on the offensive. Tsubaki felt his grin beginning to spread. No matter how much he hated that Orange/red-haired punk, he was definitely the reason for Orihime fighting and for that reason and that one alone he would be grateful to that man.

"I'll see what I can do then" Tsubaki answered as his smile grew larger and Orihime even managed to smile towards the battle-ready spirit.

* * *

_**Soul Society**_

He could feel it all over Soul Society as Spiritual Pressure's rose and dropped at dramatic speeds. With fights being started and being finished off, yet the most dramatic levels of Spiritual Pressure were exactly where he was headed. Right into the midst of the black and multi-coloured Spiritual pressures that just seemed to scream, fuck off. He could not ignore them though, it was important that he tell Ichigo the truth, that Soul Society did not have Orihime within its vicinity, that she was actually in Hell, with less than two months left to go before a horrible fate befalls her.

While he had to admit that the level that Ichigo had reached was astounding and he doubted he could stand against him any longer he would fight him if that was what it came down to, the only trick would be how to talk to him when he seemed to be so pissed off. And that was not even the only problem; the other spiritual pressure also seemed to be pissed off and as such left Grimmjow with no real idea what to do when he finally reached where they were all fighting.

It was only then that he realised he was being followed by the other Arrancar who had been fighting against the three captains, they were all battle-weary, but as far as he could tell off-handed they were all in fine condition except maybe a bit tired.

"So how can we stop these two, there must be some way for us to stop them from their rampage" Grimmjow asked the four following him, he knew them to be there so he might as well make use of them.

"Indeed, it would usually be down to one or the other to stop the opposite, for example Zakabe-Sama stopping Ichigo-Sama" the lead Arrancar answered to which Grimmjow nodded his head but had to close his eyes in slight annoyance, it didn't help them in any way that they were _both_ going quite berserk.

"I think in this case we might have to look into another avenue, is there any other way to stop those two from their rampage?" Grimmjow asked as he could feel the spiritual levels of both captains beginning to dip, the monarchy of Hueco Mundo were wearing the two Shinigami down.

"The only other way may be Sera, Zakabe-Sama always listens to her, in the past few weeks I believe that bond may have strengthened" the Arrancar continued in answer to Grimmjow who nodded his head more positively now, it seemed as if they might actually be able to pull it off. Get Sera to bring Zakabe to his senses then get him to bring back Ichigo, simple. Even he knew that it was too simple to be true and that Sera were the lynchpin in his simple plan.

* * *

Tatsuki was confused now. She was an excellent sensor of spiritual pressure and as such prided herself on her great ability to sense what people were going through simply by feeling their spiritual pressure. She understood when everyone had their respective fights, the defeats and or victories each person had and most of everything that had happened up until now. As she stood atop one of the buildings overlooking the titanic battle between the hollows and Shinigami captains she felt her mind work in a blur.

Tatsuki did not even notice it when Uryu suddenly dropped down to stand right beside her. The only sign he even gave that he had even entered the area was the light sound of his shoes touching the ground. Uryu looked no worse for wear and although he wished he were doing something more constructive he could only see himself getting in the way of the other three, they were seriously a scary bunch. He turned his attention to the woman he had just dropped down next to and took in her features.

She definitely looked different, as could be expected by wearing the apparel of the Arrancar. Had he not known that they were Arrancar clothing he would have thought she was just going to go an exercise somewhere or something, it just looked so casual? Though he had to admit that with some of the bits charred and torn, she definitely looked like she had not had an easy time of her own fight. As his eyes came up to her face he could see the confused look that had taken its place upon her face.

"Arisawa-San?" Uryu asked trying to speak softly and realising that it had failed completely. She did not seem to mind as instead she jumped in slight surprise at his sudden appearance next to her and looked to him with a concentrated gaze.

"What do you want?" Tatsuki asked and Uryu could already identify the hidden threat within her words, hoping that he would not have to raise his hands towards a lady he waved his hand in front of himself in a disarming manner.

"No…no don't worry, I'm not going to do anything against you" Uryu answered and he could see the unconvinced look on her face. He tried to rack his brain for any real piece of information or proof of what he had said, he really didn't want to have to fight Tatsuki, she was scary in her own way, the 'kick the fuck out you because you looked at her wrong' kind of way.

"How do I know that what you say is true?" Tatsuki asked with her voice still slightly on edge. She wanted to believe what he was telling her the truth, she really did but she could not go out on a limb now, not after all she had been fighting through to get to this point in her life. She knew what she wanted and she was not going to lose it, she would fight tooth and nail for it.

"I am not accompanied by Matsumoto-san or Kuchiki-san" Uryu answered evenly as he hoped it was enough to at least allow him to navigate around any form of conflict with the woman. Tatsuki seemed to take it into consideration before she looked at him again but not before drawing her dagger weapon and brandishing it, if only to show that she was not fooling around.

"That could be a ruse though; you could have come here alone to make me lower my guard" Tatsuki responded as she lifted the dagger higher and prepared herself for something she'd prefer not to do at all. Uryu looked at her with a surprised expression that soon melted away to a regrettable expression. With a flick of his right hand the spiritron bow from the symbol on his bracelet ignited at took full form.

"I regret having to do this Arisawa-san, I had hoped we could avoid such things" Uryu admitted and for the first time he saw the slightest of cracks in the hard expression that Tatsuki was giving him, for the faintest glimmer of a second he could have sworn that he saw a smile form delicately over her face before it instantly vanished.

"Me too, but I have to do this in order to save Orihime and help Ichigo, I won't be seen as weak in their time of need" Tatsuki spoke in a voice that had Uryu thinking about the very man she spoke about, her voice was full of unbridled determination that both surprised him and made him happy for her. She was not going to allow those she cared for get hurt, she wanted to help and really all of their forces would be needed in order to help Ichigo.

They stood still for a moment, just waiting for the other to make a move, any move, just for their opponent to be the one that started their fight. Uryu had his bow raised and ready and Tatsuki was ready in a battle stance that she had adopted with her simple dagger. Tatsuki could see that Uryu was not going to be the one to start their fight and as such made her move first. She went to move forwards but suddenly found a hand on her shoulder stopping her advance.

* * *

"Surely you wouldn't fight against one of your allies would you?" Tatsuki heard from behind her and upon turning around found herself face to face with none other than Renji. Not only him though, the two girls who clearly had something for Ichigo were there too and were looking to where Ichigo and Zakabe were battling with fear in their eyes.

"I would prefer not to be caught with my pants down" Tatsuki answered the redhead back heatedly as she looked at him with that same scornful look that she gave him whenever they used to bicker in the past. It made him feel happy to know that she was still partly the same as she used to be. If that was the way things were then he would just have to get under her skin, where would the fun be otherwise?

"At least not in present company, I trust that if it were just you and _him_ here you wouldn't mind too much" Renji said as a grin spread onto his face which caused a blush to explode onto Tatsuki's face. She then done what she would usually have done and punched Renji directly on the cheek, one that even Uryu looked at and was glad he wasn't caught with it. Renji looked back around again with a smile on his face.

"Good to know we're still such excellent buds, I was almost beginning to wonder who you were" Renji spoke in an almost cocky manner which had Tatsuki's temper rising even further, by this point she had even forgot about the fact she was really close to fighting with Uryu, he was not going to point this out any time soon, he was only too happy to accept the fact he had been saved from a face-beating. "That is not the issue right now though…" Renji added in suddenly becoming completely serious. "… They are, if we leave them alone for much longer then they will destroy everything, and if they destroy everything then what is there left to search for Orihime in?" Renji asked as that point struck home. A destroyed Soul Society could mean an accidentally injured Orihime.

"How do you propose we go about this then?" Tatsuki asked as she allowed the point to make sense to her quickly and assumed the role of willing listener. Renji rubbed his chin in contemplation as he thought about their options. In truth they didn't have much, it was a fight them until they wore themselves out kind of deal.

"All I can really think of is that we try to fight them both until they are out of their rage, other than that I can't think of anything good enough to stop or at the least slow them down" Renji admitted as he looked to the twin monsters that were fighting with the 11th and 6th division captains.

"We can't do that though, they are creatures of spiritual pressure far above what their bodies should be capable of containing. Ichigo is the God of Hueco Mundo and Zakabe is the Demon Lord, you don't get titles like that unless you have abilities to back them up and both of them do" Sachi spoke up suddenly as she simply stared at the two of the hollow lords battling it out, if it were not for the pained roars that they were both giving she would have thought them to be enjoying themselves.

"This is horrible" Sachi spoke as her voice wavered and all attention was on her, even Kyota was looking at her in worry, Sachi may be the more quiet and shy of them both, but she was the stronger and confident one. In short it was her job to watch over her sister. She moved over to her sister and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sachi? Are you okay?" Kyota asked softly and by now she could see the tears that were falling down Sachi's cheeks. Now her sister may be the 'weaker' of the two of them but she had never wept before. Not once had she wept, she had always been able to keep her composure just enough in order to overcome whatever troubled her.

"No, this is just too painful to watch" Sachi answered as she fell to the ground. Renji was quick to act and had moved over to her within a moment. He knelt down and placed one of his hands upon her shoulder, the one opposite Kyota's – who was now squatting next to her fallen sister. Tatsuki looked to the scene in slight confusion before turning her gaze to the Quincy who was now looking at the battle going on between the hollows and Shinigami.

She couldn't believe how close she was to fighting with him, all because she did not trust him. She felt guilt rise up as she remembered another time where she had fought after hearing the truth yet not believing in it. Uryu turned around and saw her troubled look on her face and simply smiled at her, he needn't do much else, all he needed her to see was that smile. He didn't care that they had almost fought, and the fact that they had not made him happy enough.

After seeing his smile Tatsuki felt her breath start to come back again, that smile was what she needed the most from him, it was the greatest relief he could give her. With a grateful glance back at him she then turned to the scene before her where the blue-haired girl had fallen to the ground.

"What is it Sachi?" Renji asked trying to sound a bit less forceful than he might usually sound; he did manage it, if only just. Kyota did not take her eyes off her sister, she did not like the way her sister was acting, and it was scary to say the least.

"Can't you hear them? They are crying out in pain, they are lost to themselves" Sachi answered back as renji's eyes widened and he looked over to where Ichigo and Zakabe were fighting. As Zakabe went on to strike at Zaraki, sure enough he roared out, yet Renji heard it, he heard the pain in its roar, the loss.

Kyota was however working at a different wavelength, as far as she could tell there would only be two things that could make Zakabe act in such a manner, and they had both come to Soul Society with him. working from that deduction she knew that it was not because of anything happening to Ichigo because he was fine, that meant it had to be…

"Sera Onee-Chan!" Kyota screamed as her eyes found the prone form of the beautiful blond woman on the ground with a large amount of blood surrounding her, the obvious place of the blood being from the large cut that ran from her shoulder right down to her abdomen. Kyota leapt from the building they stood on, not even giving the slightest care towards her own safety as she drove towards the prone form of the woman.

Kyota landed on the ground with the slightest amount of disturbance, not that anyone would really have been distracted by her movements besides those that were already watching her. She knelt down right beside Sera and looked at the wound she had received. It was deep and was definitely a serious wound, yet it was one that could be healed and Kyota was sure as hell not going to allow Sera to slip away from her so easily. Kyota turned around quickly from her kneeled position and roared towards the building she had just come from.

"Sachi! Sera Onee-Chan needs your help!" Kyota roared to her softer sister before she turned back to the wounded form of Sera. It was so horrible to look at but she knew she had to; she had to know that she would get better. Sachi appeared next to her suddenly and Kyota did not even jump in surprise as Sachi just cracked into existence next to her. Without a moments delay Sachi had already started to heal Sera with a technique she stole from Ichigo. When he healed them he transferred his spiritual pressure into them, which then meant that their lost spiritual pressure was restored and with the new spiritual pressure they could heal as they normally would have been able to. As such Sachi used this technique on Sera in the hopes that it would be enough to save her.

Kyota watched in evident worry and once again did not look up when all those that had stood on the rooftop dropped down next to her. Tatsuki was one of the most worried for the fallen woman; after all she had been one of the few to accept her quickly. That and added to the fact she had tried to help Tatsuki catch the eye of Ichigo helped her. Nonetheless everyone within the group was at the very least concerned for Sera as her wound slowly began to heal over at an antagonizing slow pace.

"Will she be alright?" Tatsuki asked slowly to the red haired girl who was on the ground sitting next to the woman who was prone and her sister who was healing said woman. Kyota looked up for the slightest of moments and put on a brave face for those around her, like hell was she going to look weak in front of all these people.

"Of course, Sachi is one of the best healers in Hueco Mundo; Sera Onee-Chan will be fine!" Kyota called to her happily before she resumed her serious and worried face towards the woman who was like an older sister to her and Sachi. Tatsuki knew for a fact that Kyota was putting on a brave face but decided that in light of the current situation she would not say anything, lest she make things harder for herself or the girl.

* * *

Grimmjow and those who had been following him had landed in the area that the hazardous spiritual pressure was reaching a meltdown point. They landed upon the rooftop of a building that overlooked the entire battle, which had all of the Arrancar completely entranced, even Grimmjow in all of his experience of battle found himself watching the battles with awe and fear coursing through his body.

"They wonder why none of us want to fight either of them?" the female Arrancar of the group spoke out as the others of her group looked to her and then the battle and nodded their heads. It was true, they were indeed scary creatures of battle, yet their hatred was not needed here, it was required elsewhere and it was Grimmjow who held all of the information.

"That doesn't matter just now, where is this Sera you said could calm down Zakabe?" Grimmjow asked impatiently, truth be told he was getting pretty scared that his plan might not actually work; he just had a gut feeling that it was not going to go his way. When he received no reply and turned to all of the Arrancar he found his answer.

Across all of their faces were looks of sheer horror and he could tell just from that, their chances of stopping Ichigo and Zakabe had dropped to absolute nil. He traced where they were all looking and found on the ground not far from where they stood atop the building were a collection of people around a wounded and beautiful blonde haired woman, who was clearly Arrancar.

Grimmjow was about to move from where he stood to see how he could assist those on the ground when he felt something closing in on him. turning around as if upon a dime he found a heavily armoured body crashing towards him at high speeds, Grimmjow reacted quickly and caught the body that was coming straight for him and waited for some form of assault to befall him, yet was pleasantly surprised when nothing happened. The body he caught was tired and heavy and the armour that had until then been covering the body vanished into spiritual pressure and dispersed into the air, leaving a large Mexican man in Grimmjow's grip.

Grimmjow looked up to where he must have flown from and found the form of a bipedal ice dragon falling to the ground. It was clear to Grimmjow that no matter who had won their fight it had been a close one at that, so close in fact that if the Mexican man had held on just that tiny bit longer he might have actually won in that fight, as it was though it seemed they were both done as the ice dragon plummeted to the ground too. For a second Grimmjow thought that the Shinigami might hit the ground full force.

He was proven wrong as the ice fell away from the dragon and revealed a small form about the size of a small boy and was suddenly caught by a blur of black which reappeared again only a few feet away from where the Shinigami might have landed. He was nestled in between the arms of an orange haired woman of impressive bust; Grimmjow guessed it might be larger than the Orihime woman's.

For a second their eyes met and Grimmjow was able to see a level of hatred he had not seen ever since he had threatened to harm Orihime when he fought against Ichigo. It wouldn't be so bad if he had actually done anything but he hadn't and at that he felt slightly pissed off. He growled towards the woman who gave him such a dirty look.

He found his attention being grabbed though, something was off. The chaotic spiritual pressures from before were not chaotic anymore, they seemed to be calm, but Grimmjow had a feeling that it was going to be one of those 'eye of the storm' kind of calms. He looked up to where Ichigo and Zakabe were currently standing a few feet apart and back to back. The Shinigami that had fought them were gone, Grimmjow kept on looking for them but turned up nothing until as he looked directly at the pair he could see the explosions of bodies meeting buildings a great distance away from where Ichigo and Zakabe stood.

* * *

Rukia's body shook in fear, her brother was in trouble and there was very little that she could do about it. Worse than that was the one who had done such a thing to her brother. It was Ichigo who had sent him rocketing to the distance and even before he had done that she could feel her brother's spiritual pressure straining to keep up with the continuous onslaught of Ichigo. It was even the same for Zaraki, even him with all of his spiritual pressure was finding it slightly easier than Byakuya to fight against his opponent, yet he still suffered the same fate of being cast off into the distance.

At seeing her brother being handled in such a way Rukia felt her body moving as if on auto-pilot and did not even heed the words of Matsumoto as she jumped from the ground to where Ichigo stood as if staring off into nothing. With a cry Rukia brought her Zanpaktou forward and was about to bring it across Ichigo's back before he suddenly disappeared from her view. She momentarily thought that he had evaded her only to counter-attack.

That was incorrect however as she turned to the sound of two horrible sounding roars off to her right. There two creatures of contrasting mask colours roared in fury at each other before their Zanpaktou crossed. Then with an almost deafening screech the air between both blades was released and Rukia found herself being blasted to the ground. Unable to even stop herself she had already resigned herself to hitting the ground at full force and probably sustaining a great amount of injury.

To her utmost delight though a pair of strong familiar arms wrapped around her form and stopped her fall, not to say that it stopped their own, they just kind of cushioned her fall. They landed on a heap on the ground and Rukia spun around only to find that it was Renji who had saved her, he groaned as he sat upright with her on his lap. She stared at his pained expression and hugged into him, after fearing she would never be able to do it again.

Renji just simply allowed her to hug into him. No words were needed and honestly he had no words for her. He had heard her anger induced scream and saw her charging for Ichigo. Truth is told he did not expect to see Rukia alive again because he knew for a fact, Ichigo was none the wiser and he was in no way fast enough to stop them both. So when he saws Ichigo and Zakabe lock looks and suddenly start fighting, one part of him was worried while the other was glad that Rukia was saved, by the fight of the forced of Hueco Mundo. With that in mind Renji just hugged Rukia closer to himself as they sat on the ground and he watched the battle between the two mindless beasts.

* * *

Ichigo and Zakabe fought on as if they were never once allies, although under such circumstance probably only those of Arrancar origin could understand. Simply put, neither Ichigo nor Zakabe were in the right mind-set right now, or more to the fact they were in no mind-set. In such a mindless way it only made sense that they be satiated by the pair of strong captains that fought them, in that same sense it was clear that when two strong opponents were out of the way and another only stood a few feet away, then they might as well have their fun with the other person.

Zanpaktou met Zanpaktou once again in a show of full power against full power. The show of power only lasted for a moment before both pushed out at great effort and pushed the other away from them. It seemed like an effort in vain as both of them simply leaped at each other once again to exchange a dose of more blows at each other, each connection of blades causing an explosion of spiritual pressure on a lower level than the others, to the relief of most around them.

Ichigo went to swipe at Zakabe in an upwards fashion only to find Zakabe's blade blocking his own, in the same sweeping motion Zakabe ran his blade down the length of Ichigo's on a path towards the mask of Ichigo. With a roar imitated on his mask Ichigo forced his opponent away from him, Zakabe was however only moved back a few feet before he stopped and a hiss escaped from his slightly opened mouth on his mask.

From where they both stood they both raised their Zanpaktou above their heads, Ichigo raising his right handed Zanpaktou. All around could see the spiritual pressure pooling to the respective Zanpaktou, black and red going towards Ichigo's and green and black going towards Zakabe, in short this was not looking to be good at all. With echoing roars they slashed at the air before them and great columns of spiritual pressure were shot from their blades towards each other. Ichigo had however twisted around and delivered a smaller but white and red wave of spiritual pressure after his first.

Both great columns met with an explosion that took the smaller one alongside them. After this had happened they both looked at each other for the barest of moments before disappearing from view and once again fighting with each other, with varying arcs of slashes coming from both sides. This time though their speeds were increasing at the same rate surprisingly, with this was coming more successful slashes to each other though.

"NO! THEY'RE KILLING EACH OTHER!" Kyota screamed from where she sat on the ground next to Sera, her wounds were improving and it was close to healing over completely, if left for a few moments. Everyone looked to her after her outburst and could see tears on her cheeks, not what was to be expected coming from the hardened female Arrancar. Their attention was quickly diverted from her again as a screeching sound could be heard coming from above them.

Ichigo and Zakabe were standing directly opposite each other with their bodies slightly bent over as the spiritual pressure began to pool into the area between their horns on their masks. The screeching was coming from both of them as between Ichigo's horns there was a white cero forming but between Zakabe's there was a midnight black one forming. It was like the usual light vs darkness that always used to happen. None could see the irony more than Sera would have been able to if she had been awake. Just as both ceros reached the stage of firing off a venerable voice cut through the screeching from both ceros.

"RYUJJIN JAKKA!"

* * *

_And there you have it, then next chapter of Hollow Kingdom that I intended to have out long before this so you have my apologies. I shall also explain why I never went into much detail with the Ichigo and Byakuya, Zaraki and Zakabe fights, simply put I think that you readers might be sick of reading nothing but fighting so I thought I'd try to cut back on it a bit. If there are those of you who want me to write them out as flashbacks or whatever just leave me a review or PM me, whatever works for you. As always I hope you enjoyed it and can wait for the next instalment which I cannot give any definite answers on since I don't have a clue either. Anyway R&R and I'll see you all later =] - Varrukh_


	27. Chapter 27 Even A God Can Bleed

It was as if there was a moment of clarity. For a moment there was nothing but the sounds of Cero powering up to the final level. Then with a thunderous roar there came the flames, almost as if from the very depths of Hell itself. The flames rose from the ground and split the sky between Zakabe and Ichigo. Both of their Cero fired off at the same time only to be met with the wall of flames, which in turn caused the Cero to backlash and blast into the faces of both Ichigo and Zakabe.

As the flames died down the forms of both Ichigo and Zakabe looked to each other before looking towards the large group of people that had assembled to watch their bout. Mainly their focus was upon the venerable being who was staring at both of them through an angry gaze, his Zanpaktou still outstretched.

To all who were able to watch they felt the surprise as the strongest Shinigami in existence made his presence known. He did not even attempt to supress his vast spiritual pressure that was flowing from his furious form. Even with one arm he was making himself out to be so much more intimidating and damn if it wasn't working. Not one of those who watched was able to do so without the slightest amount of fear.

They had watched as Ichigo and Zakabe viciously fought each other through pain it had to be noted/ yet the second this furious entity entered the battlefield it was like the rules had been changed. Tatsuki could feel her sensory abilities flaring in her head and felt pain unlike anything she had experienced before blasting all the way through her head. Screaming in pain she fell to the ground as her senses were mercilessly assaulted.

Grimmjow simply watched on in undisputed respect, this was a Shinigami that had power and knew it; he was in no way afraid to flaunt it either. He could see that it was enough that even the two beings of complete fury right now were even looking at the newcomer in surprise, which was probably what had him rooted to the spot. The two beings that had been releasing such high level spiritual pressure for the last half an hour were stopped and staring at a venerable Shinigami, if that didn't speak lengths about the old man's power then nothing could.

It seemed that whatever trance it was that they were put under only lasted for a few moments because after those moments were over Zakabe seemed to overcome the effects and charged at the venerable Shinigami. He raised his Zanpaktou high over his head and with a hollow roar brought his Zanpaktou down towards the head of the old Shinigami. Yammamoto simply looked at the hollow before him before swiping at it and catching it across the chest, sending it a good few feet away too.

All around those who had watched the fighting from before found whole new levels of respect and fear for the venerable Shinigami. To so effortlessly throw away the King of Hueco Mundo was a feat in itself. It did not seem to have the intended effect as Zakabe only skidded across the air before leaping back at the Captain Commander with his blade once again ready to strike. This time without the application of the roar Zakabe swiped out at the Shinigami. Yammamoto once again parried the strike effortlessly and held Zakabe back with only his one hand holding on to his Zanpaktou.

"You are determined, I will give you that" Yammamoto spoke to the hollow as he stared into the blank expanses that were the eyeholes of the hollow mask. The only reply that he received from the black masked man was a low growl before Zakabe tried to force against him only to find that he was not going to make the Captain Commander move Zakabe jumped backwards away from him. Just as he had landed once again however, a figure appeared above him with their Zanpaktou poised and Zakabe had to spin around and block the blade just in time.

White met black as Ichigo once again came to attention. Both hollows hissed at each other and tried their hardest to beat the other back in their crossing of Zanpaktou. Ichigo then brought around his white blade in order to get a slash at Zakabe. Before he could even complete the slash however there was yet another column of fire that blasted towards them. With speed that was only granted by Sonido both hollows separated from each other. As they both settled again in mid-air they looked to the Shinigami that had interrupted them for the second time.

"If you truly wish to fight amongst yourselves, take it away from here, I shall not allow the Soul Society to be destroyed because of a pair of Brats!" Yammamoto roared at the two hollows that seemed to only stare at him without any real care. Although with masks over their faces nothing could be told about their expressions. Ichigo was the first to react as he turned to Yammamoto and roared down at him, to be copied only a second later by Zakabe whom also roared at him. Only a moment later did Ichigo turn to Zakabe and swipe at his side, the attack was blocked by Zakabe but it had enough force this time to send him crashing towards the ground. With that had been dealt with Ichigo leapt over the air towards Yammamoto who raised his Zanpaktou in preparation, their clash in the air sending out a blast of spiritual pressure.

* * *

To all those who had been watching, seeing Ichigo so suddenly incapacitating Zakabe like that made it look like he had been toying with his opponent. Uryu and Tatsuki looked over to where Zakabe had landed and was currently trying to get up again a surge of fear ran through both of them as they watched Zakabe getting up once again. Just as he had gotten to his feet again and was about to leap into the air once again there was another in his way.

Grimmjow appeared above him in his released form and kicked Zakabe right in the head sending the King of Hollows into one of the opposing walls. The four Arrancar that had followed him there were instantly in an uproar.

"What are you doing bastard!" the lead Arrancar roared at him. Grimmjow landed on the ground and fixed him with a steely stare that spared no mercy. He stood up tall once again and spoke without taking his attention from where Zakabe was picking himself out of the wall. He shook himself off and then looked at Grimmjow, his mask opened slightly and he hissed at the one who had attacked him.

"We have to keep him and Ichigo separate until Sera wakes up! She can awaken him right!" Grimmjow shouted to the Arrancar without taking his attention from Zakabe who had extracted himself from the wall. "If he and Ichigo keep fighting it will be hard to separate and calm them down, this way we can work on one at a time" Grimmjow explained before Zakabe had sped across the ground right in front of Grimmjow and delivered a slash that cut up Grimmjow's chest.

Grimmjow back stepped after taking the hit and instinctively brought his hand up to the wound, upon inspecting his hand and seeing a large amount of blood he knew it was a deep cut. Grimmjow could hear it as Zakabe prepared to attack him once again and looked up in shock, he never would have guessed he would go out like this.

Then in front of his view was a wide array of people who had come together through different circumstances that had led to this one point, this pinnacle of time that could very well define the rest of their lives. In front of Grimmjow were not only Arrancar who came to his aid but he could see a few Shinigami there also and even a human or two who were aiding him.

"So all we have to do is stall him until that woman wakes up?" Uryu asked to the kneeling form of Grimmjow who smirked as he got back to his feet, still holding his hand over his large wound. "That about sums it up yeah, I don't hold any illusion that we can beat him, but if we can distract him long enough then maybe we can stop him" Grimmjow said as he studied the form of Zakabe that ha stopped the moment that everyone had entered the area before him.

Everyone that could stand besides Sera and Sachi were before the King of Hueco Mundo, all prepared to fight until Sera had healed enough, it was a fight for time. Grimmjow moved through those that stood in front of him and stood beside those who were at the front lines. He stood side to side with Renji and Tatsuki who were ready to go; one the opposite side of Renji stood Rukia, although she looked much better now, like a weight had been lifted. On the other side of Tatsuki stood Kyota who also looked ready to go, despite what she knew about the power of Zakabe.

Behind them stood Uryu for obvious reasons -being that he was a ranged fighter – and Matsumoto. It had not been easy for her to do so, she had to leave her captain in a weakened state but she was forced to realise that if she done nothing, then looking after him and allowing Zakabe and Ichigo to fight would only result in the destruction of Soul Society, in this case she chose to help everyone in their buying of time. That did not mean that her mind was at ease, far from it now, the man who was her superior and the man she loved had just fought until they beat each other unconscious, she was really not looking forward to the repercussions.

* * *

Zakabe seemed to study them all for a moment or two before he brought back his Zanpaktou, a distinct and familiar noise began to echo and they could all see the green glow coming from the Zanpaktou. Zakabe did not even wait for long before he had swiped in a horizontal arc before him sending the cero shooting towards the line of those who would try to oppose him.

"Light Regen!"

"Hikotsu Taiho!"

"Gran Ray Cero!"

All three shouts were almost as loud as the cero that stormed towards them. All three attacks collided with the cero that would wipe them out, the volley of arrows smacked into the cero as it raced towards them and manage to make the cero buckle from its original crescent shaped form. With the red beam from Hihio Zabimaru the buckle in the cero's form began to increase as it closed in on the group. Tatsuki, Kyota, Matsumoto and Rukia leapt out of the way of the impeding cero and began running towards the form of Zakabe. With a final explosion the uncontrollable power of the Gran Ray Cero collided with the green cero and finally expelled the opposite.

Zakabe growled as he could see the women moving to encircle him. With a swipe of his sword once again he kicked up the air around him, it reminded Rukia and Matsumoto of the power that Zaraki had, the strength to create air currents with only his spiritual pressure. This beast was like him only in hollow form. Kyota and Tatsuki looked at each other before nodding their heads simultaneously. Kyota flipped right over Zakabe and landed right behind him which caused Zakabe to turn around and direct his attention on her, which also meant he grabbed a hold of her neck from the back.

Tatsuki could see that Kyota was in trouble and went to work on her plan quickly. She got into place just in time to see that Zakabe had lifted Kyota a little higher and had his Zanpaktou ready to pierce her through the back. Well Tatsuki was not about to let that happen. With a quick blast of Shunko she dove in for a tackle at Zakabe's legs which caused the giant man to suddenly crumble to the ground and release Kyota. That then left Tatsuki in a bad place.

Zakabe seemed to realise that she was still attached to him and as he lay on the ground he kicked his legs upwards and through the sheer force managed to dislodge Tatsuki from his legs and send her into the air. His next move was to push against the ground with his hands and leap high into the air. Tatsuki did not know what had hit her until she felt the icy chill as a blade tried to dig into her exposed stomach, in her sudden panic she blasted out Shunko and managed to bring out her dagger in time to deflect the Zanpaktou away from her before too much damage was done.

As she landed to the ground on her back she was forced to realise that the cut had actually been painful and had she not acted in time she would have been bisected. She looked directly up at the sky where she had fallen and could see Zakabe making a rapid descent towards her. _Like hell am I going to lose here, I have to save Orihime!_ Tatsuki screamed in her head as spiritual pressure began to coat her form and Shunko covered her once again. She leapt to her feet and morphed her dagger into the form of a katana and prepared for the hollows attack.

She was saved the hassle when Grimmjow suddenly appeared next to him and sent a punch right into his abdomen that stopped Zakabe dead in his tracks. From behind Zakabe the form of Rukia and Matsumoto appeared and released their respective Zanpaktou. An ash cloud and an outburst of ice headed towards Zakabe's hunched form that was still bent over the area of impact from Grimmjow's punch.

The flies must have begun to anger the King because he straightened out his body and released a blood curdling roar unlike any he had done before. He was not in pain any longer, he was furious. His spiritual pressure covered his form once again and he turned his attention on Grimmjow again, the blast from his spiritual pressure throwing both Matsumoto and Rukia off course. Grimmjow could only stare in surprised stupor as spiritual pressure collected in between the horns of his adversary. It was too late that he realised his predicament and as he attempted to escape he felt the chill as an icy cold hand grabbed onto his wrist.

Grimmjow stared at the green orb that was forming right in front of his face, it reminded him so much of another who had the same Cero, and how he had hated that damn man. Grimmjow tried to punch into Zakabe's ribs only to find his hand once again caught, Zakabe having casually thrown his Zanpaktou aside, now with both hand incapable of helping him and his death staring him in the face Grimmjow felt a grin stretching. He had stalled long enough.

"Sprenger" a voice from Grimmjow's right called out and suddenly there were five lines of spiritual pressure racing towards his and Zakabe's location. Grimmjow attempted to release Zakabe's hold on him only to find that Zakabe held fast. Grimmjow's grin fell into a defeated smile; he was not going to come out of this unscathed.

The five lines of spiritual pressure met below Grimmjow and Zakabe and shot upwards into the sky, the blue spiritual pressure taking the shape of a pentagon and eventually expanding outwards until reaching the limit where the Seele Shneider points were. Uryu placed the small silver capsule back into one of his pockets and prepared for what was about to happen, to see whether they would have to fight on or if there would be some respite.

Renji recalled the last time he had seen that technique and remembered how it had been insanely powerful and had managed to damage the eighth Espada. He also remembered having to do something like what Grimmjow had done as well just not quite having to get caught up in the technique too. He alongside Matsumoto and Rukia were staring at the column of spiritual pressure as it began to dissipate again. Tatsuki and Kyota also watched as the column dissipated, truly fearing what the outcome might have been.

As the last shreds of spiritual pressure died away the two forms were revealed to still be standing. It was only momentary as they all watched in horrified realisation that Grimmjow fell to his knees in front of Zakabe. The only indication that any of them could see that any damage had been dealt to Zakabe was that some of his clothes were burned away. Then as he lo0oked at them directly and not at the now prone from of Grimmjow Tatsuki and Kyota realised that there was still more damage, the bottom jaw of the mask had been destroyed and because of that they could see the mouth of Zakabe.

Zakabe stepped over the prone and smoking form of Grimmjow and moved over to where his Zanpaktou lay. He picked up the weapon and looked at his opponents. Then with what looked like more of a sigh than any hiss that had been directed at them before Zakabe leapt towards his enemies. Tatsuki and Kyota were prepared for him this time though. As Zakabe took his swipe at both of them Kyota had already swung her Zanpaktou in a wide arc, which went part of the way to stop Zakabe with the kick directed into his gut from Tatsuki sending him slightly off course and away from both of them.

He twisted where he stopped and brought his Zanpaktou with him, slashing at the place that Tatsuki's head was. Only missing her because of how quickly she managed to duck under his blow. He was about to turn around and attack Tatsuki once again and he might have succeeded because such quick attacks had caused Kyota and her to get tangled amongst each other. His Zanpaktou was primed and ready to go and in that instant there was someone standing in front of them. Their arms were thrown out to the side and they stared directly at the mask of Zakabe.

Kyota and Tatsuki instantly knew who it was that stood before them with the long flowing blond hair that fell down their back and the white dress that she wore. She was breathing heavily and was clearly tired. "Sera Onee-Chan!" Kyota called out happily to the back of the one that had just saved her.

Sera did not look at those behind her; there was something far more important that she had to do just now.

"Please stop this Zakabe-Kun, you're only hurting yourself" Sera said softly to the mindless creature before her. His arm had locked the second she had appeared before him and she knew that he knew who she was. He was a creature of instinct just then and instinct told him to stop. "Zakabe-Kun, I'm here to release you from your torment" Sera spoke once again softly as she placed her hands on the side of Zakabe's midnight black mask. "Please forgive me for what I'm about to do" she finished as she brought his head closer to her own and with the space permitted by the break in his mask kissed him on the lips.

* * *

In that instant his spiritual pressure that had been raging almost uncontrollably flat lined, his Zanpaktou fell from his raised hand and his arms fell to his side. After a moment or so of Sera feeling like she was kissing a statue she could feel him reacting to her touch as his lips moved against her own and she opened her eyes to see Zakabe's kind and apologetic sapphire eyes staring at her. She cut off their kiss there and then and hugged into him as tight as she possibly could, she was so happy that he was still here, that he was still Zakabe and not some mindless beast.

"I thought I had lost you" Zakabe spoke as he hugged into her and his warm breath waved over the top of her head. She smiled into his chest as he spoke those words.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry too, I thought I had lost you too" Sera answered into his chest. Zakabe could only hug her and give her the comfort of silence at that time. He heard movement from behind him and done his best to turn and see who it was only to find that Kyota and Tatsuki were getting to their feet again. The cut upon Tatsuki's stomach was clear for Zakabe to see and with an apologetic look he spoke to Tatsuki.

"Was it me that caused that wound to you?" Zakabe asked the girl before him who he did not like in the past but if she had taken an injury from him when he was in such a state then he did feel sympathy for her. Tatsuki looked at him before giving him what seemed like an honest smile.

"No it wasn't you, it was from my fight before I got here that I got this cut" Tatsuki said as she pointed to the cut that ran horizontally across her stomach. Zakabe nodded his head in confirmation, he knew that she was not being honest about it but did not know why, he would find out later. He looked around all of those that surrounded him and found that the four Arrancar that had accompanied him were surrounding someone.

"Who is it they are guarding?" Zakabe asked as he looked to his four subordinates. Kyota found her attention shifting over to where the four were standing and finally understood why she saw so little of them as they fought off Zakabe. They refused to fight him so made themselves useful by protecting Sachi while healing Sera. They must have known that there was some chance they may have to fight Zakabe so they had partially done their part.

"Sachi, they were guarding her while she healed Sera Onee-Chan" Kyota answered and found the sapphire eyes of Zakabe on her now, he could see no real injuries on her that he might have caused although he was unsure because when he lost his mind like that he didn't know what he done. He looked over to where Sachi lay on the ground clearly exhausted with a grateful look; he would make sure that she was properly rewarded for what she had done.

"What of Ichigo?" Zakabe asked looking all around and noticed that none of them truly looked back at him. All they done were to look up into the air and only when he too looked into the air did her understand. There was Ichigo fighting against the Captain Commander, even worse was the fact he was completely out of his sane mind.

The two came together and after exchanging some blows they blasted apart again, leaving those on the ground to feel the force of the spiritual pressure as it exploded outwards from the two forms.

* * *

Ichigo and Yammamoto had been exchanging blows for a long time now. Yammamoto could see that the creature he was fighting against was an inexhaustible source of power and anger. Though his own power was by no means depleted he found that fighting against someone who was this powerful was nothing less that troubling, such a person was too dangerous to let live. This person was even more powerful than Aizen and possibly posed an even greater threat than the former captain too.

He had seen the other hollow had been fighting with so many others back down on the ground. In all honesty he found their attacks to be futile as they were never truly putting a dent into the attacks of the hollow. It was only when he saw the incapacitated woman getting back onto her feet again and jumping on front of the hollow did it making any sense to him. They had been distracting that hollow long enough for that woman to jump in a stop his rampage.

As Yammamoto thought about it now though, he had no real idea what to do about his adversary. He was a powerful being of that there was no doubt; probably able to do just about anything he wanted. If the report he had received about Ichigo possessing the Hogyoku were correct then he was beyond sure that Ichigo posed a greater threat than Aizen had. He knew that he had to win against this creature or force it to submit because otherwise it was only going to cause complete and utter destruction anywhere it went.

As Yammamoto fought with Ichigo he knew for a fact that Ichigo was not hitting him with everything he had, for whatever reason it was it was like there was some source of his power that was completely inaccessible to him. it was part of the reason that he thought he was holding off Ichigo as easily as he had been so far, he had no doubt that if he was at the mercy of the full power of Ichigo then he would be at a major disadvantage. Not to mention that he had one less arm that his enemy and that he was only relying on one doctrine of power, that being his Shinigami powers and that his enemy was relying on Shinigami and hollow powers and whatever else the Hogyoku may have given him.

Ichigo was once again upon him with varying swipes from both weapons in his hands and Yammamoto done all he could in order to dodge or parry all of the attacks that came near him. He knew of a way to fight against this adversary but it would include him getting in very close to Ichigo and it would also take a great deal of spiritual pressure in order to pull off what he had in mind. Nevertheless he knew what he had to do and was willing to put his life on the line to protect both the Soul Society and the Real world; such was the position of the Captain Commander.

Yamamoto jumped backwards and away from Ichigo as he began to collect spiritual pressure all around himself bringing up a fiery aura behind him. He moved his Zanpaktou and placed it over the knot of his kimono that was tied over where his arm should have been. With a swift movement he had cut away at the knot and caused the sleeved to fall open. His next move had especially any of the Shinigami watching to stare at him in disbelief as all the flames that were dancing all around him suddenly moved over to where his left arm should have been.

In the next instant there were flames dancing all around this area as slowly but surely an arm of pure flames began to appear. In essence he had his other arm back, but he could only do this for a short amount of time because of the amount of concentration and spiritual pressure it took to keep this form and maintain it.

Their fight had already dragged on for too long and he intended to end it here. This time he was the one who charged at Ichigo who had been surprisingly still the entire time he had been creating his arm. He swiped at Ichigo a few times only to have the hollow dodge each of his strikes which was surprising since he was one of the fastest Shinigami, although Ichigo had always been known for his speed that could rival that of Yoruichi and Byakuya, two of the fastest in Shinigami history.

Yammamoto changed tactics and began to make rapid stabbing movements with many feints in between. It seemed to work a while until Ichigo managed to dodge on that put him underneath the blade of Yammamoto's Zanpaktou. Yammamoto looked down only in time to see Ichigo prepared to cut away at his abdomen. Yammamoto tried to bring his Zanpaktou down in time but found he was too late as he felt the icy cold bit of a Zanpaktou digging into his flesh.

Despite being cut Yammamoto found out far more about Ichigo Kurosaki than he would have if he were to have a conversation with the man. He could feel the hatred and he could feel the anger. Those were only what made up the minority of his mind-set however the majority was full of pain, of loss and of despair. Ichigo was not fighting out of anger or brutality he was at almost all extents out for self-destruction.

Yammamoto had managed to evade too much damage and leapt backwards but it had put him in a prime position in which to direct his counter-measure. He moved the fastest he had ever gone in a long time and had impaled his Zanpaktou straight through the gut of Ichigo. The hollow did not seem to recognise it too much as all that Yammamoto could hear was the sudden grunt as his Zanpaktou entered the hollow's body.

He released his Zanpaktou and followed through on his initial plan. He grabbed the front of Ichigo's clothing with his flame arm burning at the area he grabbed and threw Ichigo towards the ground. Following the hollow that was descending towards the ground he followed up by increasing its rate of descent by punching him in the gut repeatedly again with his flame arm causing burns as it connected with the alabaster skin under the clothing now burned away. Just before they reached the ground Yammamoto prepared for the finale that would hopefully prove usefull in ending the rampage of this hollow.

Yammamoto then brought back both of his arms. Then as Ichigo smashed into the ground on his back Yammamoto brought both of his fists forward once again and collided with the chest of Ichigo.

"Soukotsu!" Yammamoto declared as the force from ichigo's sudden stop and Yammamoto's falling form collided with each other and a great wave of pressure was blasted out from the crater that Ichigo had landed in. the impact was so strong that the crater that they were in actually dug deeper into the ground. The mask upon ichigo's face shattered and his normal face was back and in that instant a shrill scream of pain was sent out into the battlefield as the pain from the fight and the final blast that he had been dealt from Yammamoto finally registered on him.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

He stood no chance when in such a state all of his powers are they hollow, Zanpaktou or even Hogyoku had completely and utterly abandoned him. His Zanpaktou vanished and any traces of his inner hollow also disappeared. Without anything to help him he stood no chance as all the pain he had accumulated finally overloaded his core and his body completely shut down, finally losing to unconsciousness.

"ICHIGO!" Zakabe screamed in absolute horror. It was not only he who had screamed out. Kyota, Sera, Tatsuki, Uryu, Rukia, Renji, the four Arrancar and even surprisingly enough Matsumoto had all roared his name in fright.

* * *

Thought she had not liked to admit it Matsumoto had begun to think that Ichigo might actually be looking to save Orihime and that all he had been doing was actually towards that goal. He might have been wrong about where she was but his endeavours in order to find her were incredible to say the least. That was exactly why she had called out in fear, he had been dealt such a lethal blow and his scream of pain was enough to make her cringe at the very sound of it.

Everyone else could only stare in shock as the Captain Commander stood up once again – his flame arm disappearing into spiritual pressure once again, leaving behind singed and burned clothing- from the crater that he and Ichigo had created upon their impact and look down at the man below him. it was the worst he had ever seen Ichigo, even when he had been beaten in the past he still seemed to have some strength about him, something that made him strong enough to take a blow like that and survive. It was a sad sight to see indeed, but from what Yammamoto could see and feel he knew that Ichigo was in a worse condition than any of them could even realise.

"Unohana-Taicho!" Yammamoto roared at the soft spoken woman and despite the surprise that ran through all Shinigami who had never heard Yammamoto raise his voice at the soft woman she looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"Yes?" She asked almost timidly at the suddenly frightening form that was Yammamoto, honestly he didn't raise his voice that much unless there was something of significant importance. Yammamoto turned his attention from the man who lay in the crater to the woman who had answered his call; her soft features showed him her worry and surprise.

"Heal Kurosaki if you please" Yammamoto spoke softly this time, although it was certainly not a question it was not exactly an order either but Unohana knew that she would do it anyway, that scream of pain was from someone completely unable to take the amount of spiritual pressure that had been forced against their body and since Ichigo had been upon a plane almost the same level as the Captain Commander she knew there was definitely something wrong. Not to mention the fact that it was the Captain Commander who had asked her to heal him.

To everyone else they could not believe what he had just said. After destroying Ichigo in such a fashion he seemed to have a change of heart and suddenly have him healed? The Shinigami in particular could not twist their heads around the turn of events, the most feared enemy they had faced ever since Aizen, that Yammamoto himself had had to fight against because his power was so high, and now he wanted to have Ichigo healed?

"This is urgent! If you do not do it soon he shall die! He has no spiritual pressure to call on in order to heal by himself!" Yammamoto almost roared at Unohana who almost jumped to attention in that instant. She ran over to Ichigo and instantly went to work on healing the broken form of the man below her.

* * *

Zakabe could not believe what he was hearing. Again? He was going to lose a brother again? It had taken him so long to get over Zurak and now he was about to lose someone else that he had come to care for almost as much. Sera could sense his discomfort and hugged into him even more, she knew what was running through his head and she felt the same, she didn't want to lose another brother, the pain had been hell for Zakabe but it had also hurt her too.

Tatsuki's mouth had hung open the second she had heard such words. Ichigo was going to die? But he couldn't, he was the one that was going to help to save Orihime, he was the one that had so confidently said he would, he couldn't die, not here, not now, he just couldn't. He didn't know how she felt about anything, about him, about why she done half of what she had. She felt her entire body shaking in anger and pain. He couldn't leave them like this, not when they were so close.

Kyota had fallen to her knees; there was no way that he could die. He was a God, and God's aren't supposed to die. He couldn't die, she and Sachi needed him, he was the man that had saved them and he was the only man they had ever felt safe around. If it had not been for him then she and Sachi would still have been wandering around the wastes of Hueco Mundo trying to find some form of safety away from the countless hollow that wanted to devour them. Sachi had not even gotten to see him since they had seen each other in Las Noches and she would be destroyed if she never got to see him again. She felt a hand resting on her shoulder comfortingly and upon looking up found the hand of the other human was on her shoulder.

Uryu understood her predicament. If the way she had acted when in the real world was anything to go by then she felt a great deal of love and attachment to Ichigo. Yet he was just as surprised to hear such news, Ichigo was always known for having spiritual pressure far beyond the level of many others, for him to be upon the precipice of death due to no spiritual pressure must mean that there was some form of misbalance within his soul. The very fact that Ichigo's life now hung in the balance was still surprising to Uryu, he still expected Ichigo to jump back to his feet and proclaim that all was fine but with the emptiness that he could feel over where Ichigo was it only seemed to emphasise that Ichigo had no spiritual pressure.

Rukia and Renji were both staring in Ichigo's direction with the same look of complete and utter disbelief. The man who had proved at every turn he made that he would fight against the known logic and rules was dying. There was no way that Ichigo could die like this, this was absolutely not the way Ichigo should have to die, if anything he should have at least had the grace in having a peaceful death not one born of dread and despair. Rukia couldn't bear the thought of Ichigo dying under the weight of what he had on his shoulders. With Orihime gone and the pain that he had been dealt by his friends he was surely to die a painful death. She hugged into Renji who could only numbly hold her as he stared at where Ichigo lay under the green glow of Unohana's hands.

Matsumoto who was tending to both her captain and Sado could not believe those words either. The man whom she had poured so much hatred into had his very life hanging by a thread. No matter how much she had verbally attacked him he had always taken it and never said anything back to her. He had been true to what he had said, all he ever wanted to do was to be with Orihime and all he had wanted to do was to save her. Right now matsumoto felt more rotten than she had done in a while her captain, love and now her ex-nemesis were all in dangerous states.

"My, my if he's about to die then that might mean I'll have to mark him off my list" a sickeningly sweet voice spoke out and one that Zakabe recognised all too well, it was not a person he had exactly ever really wanted to see again. He and everyone turned towards the owner of the voice to find an alabaster woman who was only covered by a simple piece of loincloth that covered her lower nether-regions, the rest of her body completely exposed.

The Demoness smiled down on Zakabe and everyone before her. It truly was a day of days when even a God could bleed.

* * *

_I hope you can forgive my tardiness in getting this chapter out to you guys and for its shortness but I think it ends pretty neatly at that. I hope you like the twist I put in there right at the end because I felt that it would be good for progression in the next few chapters, anyway I hope to hear from you about what you think and so on and so forth so please leave a review for me and I'll have my next chapter of either this or The Return Of The Hero Of Konoha out soon =] - Varrukh_


	28. Chapter 28 The Calm After The Storm

"My, it must be the end of an era, the day when even a God could bleed has come and my master has yet to be released from Hell" the Demoness spoke in her sickeningly sweet voice that sent shivers through everyone present. Her eyes roamed over all before her, taking brief glances at the states of all those around. She could see that most of them were haggard and worn out. What it was that had caused such states of being she had no clue, but she did think that she had missed out on something evidently fun.

Her eyes moved over the prone form of Sado who was lying next to the kneeling woman that the Demoness recognised from Hueco Mundo. "What have you done to my pet? I don't want a man that can't even look after himself" she spoke in a disgusted manner that caused Matsumoto to look at her in evident fury.

"Shut up you shameless bitch!" Matsumoto screamed from her kneeling position to which the Demoness only got a smile on her beautiful face. It was ever so fun to taunt those who had such sensitive emotions. She moved forwards and loved the way in which everyone in front of her tensed at the sudden move that she had made.

"Oh I love playing with you people; this is why I came back so soon, I never got my fill in Hueco Mundo" the Demoness spoke as the grin on her face could only increase in size. She had only taken one step yet already everyone had tensed and seemed like they were ready to fight her. They were quite clearly in a world of their own because they were still over 200 years too young to even try to harm her. Those that held that power were lying on the ground right now and she could not quite locate the other one.

Her eyes continued to dance over all of those arrayed before her. Human, Shinigami and Arrancar, there was such a diverse spread of races before her that she never thought she would have met in the past yet here she had it in front of her. Finally her eyes settled over the one that she had been looking for.

"Zakabe-Kun, you seem to be unnaturally aware and without injuries, tell me have you not been fighting? If that is indeed the case then I may have to score you off my list too" the Demoness spoke in a disappointed manner, with her eyes even shining in sadness. Sera grabbed onto Zakabe even tighter as if to affirm that she was not going to lose him to anyone, and especially not some strange alabaster white woman that so suddenly appears. The Demoness saw this and licked her lips. "No, I can taste it in the air, you have been fighting, your strength has been so great that you sustained no real dangerous injuries, you have moved up on my list Zakabe-Kun" the Demoness spoke huskily.

She lost her interest in looking at him as she then went about looking for the entire reason that she was there in the first place. Sure she had wanted to have some continuation of the fun she had in Hueco Mundo but she actually had a reason to come to the Soul Society in the first place. Finding who it was that she had been searching for she sighed heavily with her shoulders drooping and bringing a palm up to her face.

"Since he appears to be incapable of staying awake, please tell Grimmy-Kun that he has only one month and a half left until he will be too late" the Demoness spoke dryly as she turned away from all of them. "Also, tell him to hurry up because I so desperately want to have both you and Sado-Kun in Hell with me, Zakabe-Kun" the Demoness spoke suggestively as she looked over her shoulder at him. Zakabe only stared back at her with a blank look, he could not figure out what it was that she was planning nor what she was talking about, but he knew that it had something to do with Hell.

With her message being clearly heard and her time limit being up she had to walk forward and into the flaming gate that appeared before her. "Don't keep me waiting" the Demoness concluded without looking at them at all and stepped through the flaming abyss that made up the walkway she would have to take. The flaming gate only remained for a few seconds before swirling and then evaporating into nothing.

* * *

With the threat out of the way for the time being and everyone counting their luck for missing what could have really tipped off their worst day, everyone allowed their bodies to feel the sense of relaxation for the barest of moments before pandemonium broke out again.

Hundreds of Shinigami stormed into the area. They were all drawing their Zanpaktou and pointing them towards the invaders that had destroyed much of their home. The Arrancar plus some humans were surrounded on all sides by the far more numerous Shinigami. Zakabe growled at the oppressive atmosphere that they suddenly found themselves within. He let go of Sera and stood in front of her and looked towards the direction of where the Captain Commander was currently still standing over Ichigo.

"You can all try to harm us but I will warn you right now, there is nothing you can do to stop me from saving that man" Zakabe proclaimed to all of the Shinigami before him. They all got the message loud and clear. Fight him and die or let him past and survive until Captain Commander kills them, truly a trick question. Zakabe awaited their reply, as they all seemed to think about their resolve he then watched as they all looked up at him with their faces all a mixture of unsure determination.

Zakabe knew that even without the number advantage that the Shinigami held over them they were in a bad situation. All of his allies were either injured or had been in battles that had tired them out. Having given into his hatred he had of course accumulated just as much fatigue and pain as they had but he had to stand, he would not allow Ichigo to fall into the hands of the enemy. He would never lose a brother again.

Zakabe cast his hand out to the side and with that action the Zanpaktou that had been discarded the moment Sera had kissed him was back within his hand. Uryu, having not had to partake in any battles besides that fight against Zakabe thus far stood forward too. Even though it may be against every fibre in his body to fight alongside a hollow and even an Arrancar at that he would not allow his friends to be put in any form of danger. That included Ichigo.

Amongst the Shinigami facing them there was Rukia, Renji and a kneeling Matsumoto that seemed to be looking around themselves in confusion. Renji was especially confused because he wore the white clothing of the enemy yet they said nothing to him.

They all stood in pregnant silence for a long time, both sides just waiting for their opponents to make the first move. Zakabe wished for the first move to be made against him which would then leave him enough time to work out an effective counter to whatever it may be that he would have to face. He knew that the odds were not looking good and was grateful for the human that seemed to be willing enough to support him.

He could see movement on his other side and to his surprise and happiness he could see Sera standing beside him too. With that she proved to him that she would follow him to Hell if she had to, he had known that she would, truth be told he knew that a long time ago but he had never wanted it that way. He only ever wanted her to be happy and he had honestly thought that with Zurak she would have been. However fate makes fools out of everyone and he was not going to give up this happiness that he had only recently managed to acquire. He had always tried to find the happiness for others in the past, now it was time for his own happiness to take over.

"Don't worry Zakabe-Kun; I'll stand by your side too" Sera spoke gently to him before she took his left hand into her right and smiled up at him. He smiled back at her before releasing her hand; he would require his own for the necks that he would have to strangle.

"Let's go" Zakabe said as he was about to move forwards. The second he took his step though there was something in his way though, right in front of him was the very reason that one of his closest allies was currently on the ground. He was the reason that Ichigo had screamed out in such horrific pain, by his hand Ichigo had suffered so much.

"Shinigami" Zakabe hissed out in nothing less than hatred. On each of his sides both Uryu and Sera had prepared themselves for the worst. Although his hatred was raging within his system Zakabe knew that if he was to take on the strongest Shinigami in existence alone then he would undoubtedly lose both the fight and possibly his life. He was not going to give that up; he had to live on for the sake of Sera.

* * *

In a move that none had anticipated including Yammamoto himself Zakabe had leapt high over them and blasted outwards with Sonido right in the direction of Unohana. "DO NOT TOUCH HIM!" Zakabe roared at the gentle captain who looked up at the impeding Arrancar in fright, she was only doing what she had been asked to and healing Ichigo, why would the Arrancar go quite so aggressive after knowing this?

She was forced to stop her healing of Ichigo in order to take a hold of the situation she was now in. Ichigo was in no state to be left unattended and he would have to have her procedure reapplied very soon or it would then lead to Ichigo's state worsening and the possibility of him dying would increase ten-fold once again. She was saved the hassle of having to do anything with Zakabe as a form stood in front of her and crossed Zanpaktou with the Arrancar that was closing in on her.

"You!" Zakabe hissed at the man who had stopped his swipe. Standing right before him was the very reason he had given into his hatred. Zaraki Kenpachi. Zaraki looked for lack of a batter term, completely wasted. There were only a few pieces of clothing that still covered him. Any clothing he had on his torso was gone and his body was completely lined with bruises and cuts from his fight with Zakabe.

"If you follow through with that then you won't leave here alive" Zaraki spoke to him plainly, there was no longer the hint of fearlessness or any form of brutality in his words, he was stating a fact. Zakabe growled at him angrily.

"If I don't fight and rescue him then I will die here anyway" Zakabe answered back with a hint of anger in his voice. Zaraki looked at him through eyes of understanding. They were almost one in the same, they fought through their problems, fighting on until they came up to a stronger opponent, that was why Zakabe was willing to fight even now, it was entirely understandable the he would not trust those that had just fought them.

"Yet even if you do not die and save Ichigo, he shall die" Zaraki said in a chillingly composed voice. There was no way that this could be Zaraki Kenpachi, the man who barely thought about what he was doing. The man who only ever thought about his next fight and how strong his opponent would be, there had to be some kind of mix up. Zakabe looked at Zaraki in shock, true he had believed it best to get Ichigo out of there but if he was to die because he would be too slow was not something Zakabe had taken into account.

Unohana took the opportunity afforded to her by Zaraki and turned around the restart her healing of Ichigo. She had to admit that it was a gruesome sight to see a body this damaged. She had seen some horrible things in her past but this was truly beyond much of that, but it was not just his physical appearance that had her cringing at him. He was hollow, empty and without it seemed anything it seemed to keep him alive. She could feel nothing from him, there were no Shinigami powers, and there were no fabled hollow powers. There was absolutely nothing left of the man who could turn Soul Society upside down.

For the first time in his life Ichigo Kurosaki had finally run out of spiritual pressure, and it looked as if it might be the only time in his life that he would get like this. Despite her many attempts to put spiritual pressure into him it was like it was all just being siphoned away from him.

"Then what do you suppose I do?" Zakabe asked the barbaric turned composed captain who was still holding his Zanpaktou at bay. Zaraki looked directly into the sapphire eyes of Zakabe and gave his answer.

"Let Unohana-Taicho handle it, she is the foremost healer in Soul Society after all" Zaraki answered as a blur suddenly appeared on his shoulder. Zakabe looked up to see a small form hanging over the large captain's shoulder. It was a little girl that had pink hair and the same Shinigami uniform that the lieutenants had.

"How the hell do I know that you Shinigami won't just try to kill him because of his weakened state?" Zakabe asked not entirely sure if he should listen to what this Shinigami said, he had almost killed Sera after all. It was at this time that the little girl that had landed on Zaraki's shoulder looked at Zakabe and smiled at him only the way a child could.

"Re-Chan won't hurt him and Ken-Chan won't let anyone hurt Ichi-nii" Yachiru chirped happily from Zaraki's shoulder to which Zakabe found he wondered if possibly they were telling him the truth. After all the Captain Commander had immediately ordered the healing of Ichigo the second his spiritual pressure had vanished so it could only mean they were trying to keep him alive right? At the same time though could he honestly trust this person who had come too close to killing the woman that he loved?

He withdrew his Zanpaktou from Zaraki's and took a step back; he wished to assess the situation. If he was attacked within the next ten seconds while he thought he would discredit what Zaraki had been saying and once again attempt to save Ichigo. If they were doing as they said however it would be mutually beneficial as it would mean that Ichigo would be healed and they may find out what it was that had caused his condition to plummet. The fact that they only had Sachi in Heuco Mundo who was quite so proficient at healing and even at that she got really tired if she had to work for long periods of time, it helped to allow Ichigo to be healed here.

It occurred to him that there was more to the picture than he was truly seeing. That female creature had appeared before him twice now and on both occasions had indicated an interest in him going to Hell, although he could guess one reason as to why that was he was also able to understand that there was something that she had told the blue-haired man that was still lying on the ground. He knew that there was something important the man knew and he needed that information soon. Yet this once again left him at the mercy of the Shinigami, he would need them to heal the blue-haired man too.

His avenues were slowly disappearing before him, through his hatred for his lifelong enemies and his need for urgent help he was seeing only few possible routes left, and not many of them were ones he liked. He replaced his Zanpaktou back into its scabbard and turned away from Zaraki despite every fibre in his body saying that was a bad idea. With a quick application of Sonido he had placed himself once again in between the Captain Commander and his group of allies.

He stared at the aged face of Yammamoto to see that the man at least seemed to hold no malice at that moment and time. "If I am to allow your people to heal Ichigo then I have some demands be met" Zakabe said in a controlled manner, this was his first attempt at democracy after all. Yammamoto looked at Zakabe with a bit of a surprised expression; he never did think that he would see the day he could talk to a hollow out of a situation like this one.

"What would these demands consist of?" Yammamoto asked while resting his hand upon the staff that had covered over his Zanpaktou once again. Yammamoto had actually been surprised when Zakabe had managed to outmanoeuvre him and almost attacked Unohana a moment ago, he was just glad for Zaraki's durability and his ability to intercept the attack in time. It was times like this that he truly felt old, he also knew that he would have to hand over the title of Captain Commander soon enough but he still had to wait for someone who held the same strength as he did to take over the mantle.

"First of all is I would like that myself and my allies can stay close to Ichigo at all times, I know that you shall probably move him to the fourth division barracks and wish that we can accompany him there, we shall not become a problem so you need not worry about that" Zakabe answered slowly and Yammamoto found this to be understandable, then again if they were to become a problem he could always have some other captains watch over the fourth division just in case.

"Is that the last of your demands?" Yammamoto asked sceptically, of course he knew there was more to come but he did not know what kind of things this hollow would try to ask of him, the first one was reasonable enough but he did not know where the hollow's limits would be. Zakabe looked over to where Grimmjow was lying on the ground and then over to where Matsumoto was trying to help both her captain and lover.

"The only other things that I ask are that you heal both the blue-haired man and the injured human, other than that I have nothing else to ask, I shall personally stay and send back my subordinates except Sera. Unfortunately I have no control over the others here so I cannot exactly promise anything from them" Zakabe finished and Yammamoto once again found himself exceedingly surprised at the mentality of the hollow that he was talking to. The things that it was promising were the likes that he had never imagined a hollow would ever say nor even try to follow through on. Although Yammamoto could tell that this hollow was different, there was something about it that set it apart from the rest.

The four Arrancar all looked more than annoyed that they were being sent away. The leader of their group took a step forwards and called out to Zakabe's back. "Surely you joke Zakabe-Sama, if you are to be attacked then who shall help you?" he spoke in a concerned manner and Zakabe had to smile at the thoughtfulness of his subordinate.

"Worry not, I send you back as a sign of trust but at the same time, if my tracker in Hueco Mundo turns off then mobilise all Arrancar" Zakabe answered over his shoulder, the lead Arrancar took in those words and finally understood what Zakabe was saying. In Hueco Mundo there were tracker monitors for Zakabe that would tell the Arrancar the condition of their king, they would have had one for Ichigo but as their deity they saw little need for something on a creature so strong. 'How ironic that is' Zakabe thought to himself as he imagined what would happen if Las Noches was to know that Ichigo was so close to death.

The Shinigami went into uproar as Zakabe had said those words, he intended to attack them. Yammamoto on the other hand once again took interest in the tactical mind of the hollow. It was like he was talking to a hollow that had even more strength than Zaraki and also had a fair amount of intelligence too. The less hollows that were in Soul Society also meant that there was less chance of problems occurring and if the hollows that stayed were to behave themselves the he was only slightly troubled by their staying. It was certainly a leap away from being completely against it.

"Very well, I accept these terms" Yammamoto's voice boomed over all others that shouted their objections, silencing them. Never did they think that they would see the day that the Captain Commander would agree to anything put forward by an Arrancar, there was quite clearly something deeply wrong if he was to accept these terms. Zakabe turned around to his four subordinates and nodded his head at them. With their order being issued the four regretfully opened a Garganta and stepped through, the gate slamming shut behind them.

Zakabe then turned around fully and looked to those that were not so directly under his control. Tatsuki and Kyota were the only ones left standing that he had no sway over, he could not oppress them with strength nor could he make them do anything. "I know that I hold no sway over either of you ladies but I ask that you please abide by these terms?" Zakabe asked as softly as he could to the two women who looked surprised by his almost pleading tone. Kyota would have happily done it anyway, the safety and health of Ichigo hung in the balance and with Sachi out of it just now they only had the healing division of Soul Society to rely on.

Tatsuki was taken aback mainly by his sudden change in manner towards her. Before they had even come to Soul Society he had hated her beyond any reproach it seemed. Almost like he wanted to kill her quickly and dispose of her but just then he seemed almost desperate for her to help him. This was her childhood friend and the man that she had been slowly falling for that they were talking about here so of course she would go along with it if it meant the life of Ichigo could be saved.

Zakabe felt a wave of relief crash over him as he receiver nods of affirmation from both Kyota and Tatsuki and then turned his attention to the other human who had been read to stand beside him and Sera to fight off the Shinigami. "What about yourself, Quincy?" Zakabe asked the man who simply looked back at him; he moved his glasses up the bridge of his nose before giving his reply with closed eyes.

"I shall abide by these terms but it is not because I like you, it is because my only interest just now is to save Orihime" Uryu answered back coldly to which Zakabe felt slightly annoyed at his word choice but was grateful all the same that he would at least go along with the proposals he had made. Zakabe then turned back to Yammamoto with a smile on his face only to see that Yammamoto had a troubled look on his own.

"Why is Inoue Orihime not amongst you?" Yammamoto asked the only person still standing that he could ever remember being with the orange haired woman with the extraordinary power of rejection. Uryu looked at the Captain Commander in scepticism; surely he would know that she was not amongst them, if it was Soul Society that had her he was sure to be in on it.

"She has been stolen from us" Uryu answered back. "That was the whole reason that Soul Society was attacked, it was believed that you would have taken her" Uryu finished as Yammamoto's eyes opened and his face registered nothing but shock and possibly a great deal of fear. It all made sense to him now. Not just that Ichigo would suspect them of taking her since he had never truly trusted them and after being a hollow entity it would only make sense that they be viewed as his enemy. What chilled the body of Yammamoto was that he had a bad feeling about who it was that potentially had Orihime.

"Soul Society never held Inoue Orihime, but if I am correct in my assumptions then it is far worse than I can even imagine" Yammamoto admitted to the Quincy. That threw everyone for a loop, the Captain Commander sounded afraid, terrified almost. "All fourth division members! Focus healing the blue-haired man! We need him alive!" Yammamoto yelled to all of the Shinigami assembled. After a moment a few Shinigami moved through the ranks after receiving the order.

"Shinigami, what is the problem, where is Orihime being held?" Zakabe asked to the venerable Shinigami that looked to him after being spoken to, that same almost terrified face still present.

"There is a possibility that she is being held within Hell, for what reason I do not know but I do know that it cannot be a good thing" Yammamoto responded quickly as he watched the few Shinigami attending to the downed Arrancar. Zakabe was completely stumped, why would she be in Hell? What possible reason could the denizens of Hell require a woman for; although when he thought about it less than enjoyable images came to mind.

"Then we must go to Hell" Zakabe pointed out to which Yammamoto looked directly at him.

"It is not so easy as that, there must first be a gateway to Hell made which is no easy task, something that only Kisuke Urahara has ever been able to accomplish, on top of that we must affirm with that man exactly what that Demoness was talking about" Yammamoto answered when he looked at Grimmjow, that man knew something especially by the way that the Demoness had been talking, he only wished that the Arrancar was still standing and able to tell him.

"For now we must be patient" Yammamoto finished with finality and could see that it was not good enough with the Arrancar. He was glad to see that the Arrancar at least accepted it, be it very grudgingly at that. Yammamoto having finally managed to overcome what could have been a very troubling situation took the time to honestly think about what was happening.

In the end all that it could really boil down to was that in the last century or so he had managed to piss off the Soul King or something because all of the difficult shit had been happening in the last century. The Vaizards, Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai then with Ichigo and his group, after that was the betrayal and eventual war with Aizen, finally being brought around again to where they stood now.

Truly things were not going to calm down before he stepped down from the mantle of the Captain Commander.

* * *

_**Mindscape**_

There was nothing in front of him. There was nothing behind him, nothing at all for him neither to see nor to even think about. All that there was that could even be described as anything was the blank canvas of white that expanded in all directions. Trying to find any bearings that he could he tried to stand up straight only to find he had no balance at all, or more to the fact that there was no floor or anything to stand upon.

Where was he? What was he doing here? Why was he here? There were all the questions that ran through his head as he tried to piece together why he would be in such a blank and unforgiving place.

_You have lost sight of whom you are, Ichigo_ came a unisex voice from all around him. He could not pinpoint where the voice might come from because it came from all different angles at once, as if he were within the voice itself.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean who I am?" Ichigo asked out looking around the blank white space for any indication of where the voice might be.

_You are not a man that I am willing to give my power to any longer_ the voice answered and this time Ichigo could pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Turning around he came face to face with a man with long flowing red hair and wearing white clothing. Flashes of fights with Byakuya and Yammamoto bulldozed through his head as the image of the beautiful man before him sparked memories.

"What is this?" Ichigo asked through clenched teeth while holding his head in pain. Each image that he could see was like a spike being rammed through his head. The man who stood opposite him did not have any real emotion upon his face; if anything it was the same look that Byakuya had, one that had neither interest nor care.

_This is your brutality, this is you whenever you allow your emotions to take over, this is you at your worst, and this it would seem is the true you_ the voice answered in an emotionless fashion while Ichigo continued to hold his head in pain due to the images that were screaming through his head. _I will not work for a master who can be so easily swayed from his path_ the voice continued on as the man looked to Ichigo in a somewhat disgusted and sorrowful way.

"What are you talking about? I was never swayed from any path!" Ichigo argued back through clenched teeth. The red haired man took in those words with a pinch of salt and had appeared behind Ichigo in an instant and delivered a harsh strike to the back of his head.

_Don't give me any of that shit!_ The voice shouted out in absolute fury. At the sudden fury in the voice Ichigo found his head snapping up to look at the red haired man and could see the anger obvious on his face. _You strayed from your path the second you gave in to your rage! Did you even bother to think of the outcomes!_ The voice continued on. Ichigo found he was surprised, despite not remembering who the red haired man before him was he knew that his voice had never been that loud in the past and it was indeed intimidating.

"I don't know what you are talking about! " Ichigo tried to argue back only to find that the man opposite him did not seem to be listening to him at all.

_You do know exactly what I am talking about, you gave in to your rage and completely forgot about __**her**__, didn't you? _The voice asked. Ichigo felt a pang in his chest as he finally realised what the man was talking about but he had to have it wrong. At that moment all of what had happened assaulted Ichigo's senses without any mercy and forced him to his knees. The red haired man watched in satisfaction as the memories that he had withheld from Ichigo suddenly rushed him at one time. If he was to learn his lesson then he would have to learn it the hard way.

As Ichigo seemed to regain his senses his breathing became haggard and pained. "I never forgot about her" Ichigo spoke out through his heavy breathing. The red haired man walked over to Ichigo and leaned down so that his head was just over Ichigo's.

_Do not joke with me! I know your heart and soul! You cannot lie to me! You forgot about her and gave in to your hatred! _The voice continued in absolute rage, something Ichigo still found very scary. _I was happy to grant you my power so long as you used it for a greater cause than yourself, yet in the end you so selfishly took it to use in your anger!_ The man continued in his rage.

Ichigo went to try and argue but was stopped when the red-haired man raised his hand to stop Ichigo. _Exactly what do you think is the reason you have the power that you did? What possible reason do you think I had in order to permit you to use any amount of my power?_ The man asked and left Ichigo to stare at him in confusion, to that question he had no real answer, he had never been told why, only that he was better than Aizen.

_Do not get so conceited! _The red-haired man cut out through Ichigo's train of thought. _I gave you my power because of that woman, that woman made you a better man than any others I have ever come across; your care of her was what kept you strong!_ He continued on as he moved closer to the downed Ichigo, stopping just before him.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, finally able to voice his curiosity and confusion. The red haired man gave him a heated gaze before it softened slightly and his anger seemed to evaporate.

_I am talking about Orihime Inoue, the woman you love. She was the well you took your power from, why do you think your hollow reacted on the roof of Hueco Mundo? It was not for fear of its life, it was your will taking over the hollow. Your will was so strong that even in that state you forced Shiro to recognise her as something to protect. _The red haired man talked as if the things he spoke about were a fond memory, like that was all they ever would be, memories.

_It even continued on after you died and became a hollow, you knew for a fact that the name Inoue Orihime was belonging to one you had to protect._ The red haired man looked off into the distance as if able to see something that Ichigo could not see. _Then when you finally awakened my power you went on to solve every problem before you to reach her again, healing Sachi and Kyota, saving Zakabe from his loneliness and then going on to see her again. Ichigo at that time you had full access to my powers, you could have done absolutely anything you could have wanted to._

"Why are you telling me this now?" Ichigo asked as he finally managed to get to his feet once again and look into the eyes of the beautiful man in front of him. Honestly he never knew that the word 'beautiful' would ever describe a guy from his perspective but this guy done it.

_We only miss that which we had once it is gone_ the red haired man supplied in answer. _I have taken all of your powers from you so that you can no longer be a danger to all around you, no longer shall you be a danger to any realm. _With that the red haired man turned around and began to walk away, his body beginning to dissolve as he got further away.

"Wait! I have to save Orihime!" Ichigo tried to argue to the back of the red haired man. This only caused him to stop and look over his shoulder.

_You have plenty of strong allies and friends; they should be enough to rescue Orihime from Hell. _The man replied before he began walking again, before he entirely disappeared he waved his hand over his shoulder. _Sayonara Ichigo, until the next time our paths cross._ The man called out before his entire being was completely gone.

* * *

_**Soul Society**_

Ichigo was catapulted from his dream and found his eyes opening to the roof of a large room. From his position lying on his back he could tell that he was in one of the buildings of the Soul Society, probably after being captured by the Shinigami. He felt a wave of uselessness and disgust wash over him as these thoughts plagued him.

To be in the hands of the enemy was detrimental in every way for him. It had to mean that all of those he had brought with him had been defeated, killed or captured too and another wave of uselessness assaulted him. This also meant that his plan of saving Orihime was hindered; he would find it exceedingly difficult to escape from here without his powers. That did not mean he would not try, and even without his powers he was going to save her.

He sat up from his lying position only to find that there were some surprising things waiting to be revealed to him. First of all was that both of his hands were being held tightly and on closer inspection he could see that the hands belonged to Tatsuki and Kyota respectively. The next surprise that he found was that there was also Sera and Zakabe sitting upon a two-seater, Sera leaning into Zakabe as they both slept sitting up. The final surprise was that on the other three beds within the room there were the sleeping forms of Grimmjow, Sado and Sachi.

He did not even bother to begin thinking about these surprises because his head hurt enough as it was and he didn't want to push it too far. At least everyone in the room was sleeping just then.

"So you do finally wake up, Kurosaki?" Ichigo heard of to his right and looking over the sleeping form of Kyota found the stoic Quincy archer sitting on a chair with his right leg crossed over his left and his arms crossed.

"How long have I been out?" Ichigo asked sheepishly while keeping his voice down, by the way everyone looked it seemed that they were all shattered, and despite his curiosity as to why they were all in a Soul Society building and not in a prison cell or such, he looked to the Quincy still rather sheepishly. Uryu seemed to be completely unfazed by Ichigo's sorrowful eyes and rolled his own before giving his answer.

"The better part of an entire day" Uryu answered curtly as Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, he didn't think he had been out for that long, maybe a couple of hours but then again when he had been hit from the Captain Commander his world went obsidian black and then he woke up in shining white. Then more questions started to flood around in his head.

"What happened? Why are we here? And why is Grimmjow here?" Ichigo asked in quick succession which caused Uryu to release a heavy sigh. Why did he have to be the one that was awake just now? It would have probably sounded better coming from someone like Sado or that Zakabe man since they were closer to him. Yet one was completely spent and sleeping off his fatigue while the other had fought until he dropped, so their conditions were understandable.

"Well the shortened version is that you and Zakabe lost your minds and fought Byakuya and Zaraki until you had beat them, then set about fighting with each other" Uryu began as he made himself more comfortable in his chair and moved his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "After that the Captain Commander showed up and split you and Zakabe apart, he fought with you while we all tried to hold Zakabe back long enough for Sachi to heal Sera" Uryu continued as he indicated the girl in the other bed sleeping as he said her name.

"After Sera came back and stopped Zakabe which brought him back to his sense we all watched as the Captain Commander tried to fight you and eventually drove you into the ground, where you screamed in pain and passed out" Ichigo nodded at that bit, he remembered the screaming in pain and the passing out bit, it was after that that he was confused about.

"After you had passed out the Demoness from Hueco Mundo showed up and said that Grimmjow had information he had to tell us, from what I gathered it involves Hell and 6 weeks' time" Uryu continued seeing Ichigo nodding along as he spoke. "Finally after that Zakabe and the Captain Commander conversed and came to the compromise that has led to where we are now" Uryu finished which lead Ichigo to get interested in the compromise.

"What were the terms?" Ichigo asked softly, hoping that his voice and Uryu's would not wake anyone up. Tatsuki moved slightly by his left hand but when he looked at her he only looked in time to see her settling down again, back to sleep.

"That he would send away his retinue and that he and Sera would remain here until you healed, other than that is was up to the rest of us to comply, which luckily for you we did" Uryu responded quickly and again Ichigo found himself only capable of nodding his head. Uryu knew he had left out some things like Zakabe almost killing Unohana but thought Ichigo did not need to know that just now, all he needed to know right now were the things that directly affected him now.

"Does that mean that so long as we adhere to Soul Society then we should be safe?" Ichigo asked uncertainly and Uryu actually had to look at him to make sure this was indeed still Ichigo. This didn't sound much like the confident man he had known in the past, this man seemed almost scared and unsure.

"As long as we do not do anything to become a problem to the Shinigami then yes we should be fine" Uryu answered him and could not miss the wave of relief that seemed to crash over the eyes of Ichigo. His level of worry just went on to confirm to Uryu that there was something wrong with Ichigo if his confidence was completely shot too.

"Ichigo?" Ichigo looked up surprised because Uryu was never one to use first names and it was definitely a first time that he had ever said his name. The surprise and confusion on his face were as plain as day and Uryu continued on despite realising his slip up too late. "What happened to you?" he asked finally. Ichigo's eyes became downcast and Uryu noticed the way that his shoulders seemed to sag at the mere mention of something having gone wrong, yep Uryu knew he had something there.

Ichigo moved from his sitting position and moved back to his lying down position once again. "I'll tell you once everyone is awake and able to hear me, I don't want to have to repeat myself" Ichigo answered in a very dejected sounding voice. Once again Uryu was thrown off by the way Ichigo was acting, there was definitely something off if Ichigo was acting like this.

Yes, Ichigo was troubled by something and Uryu knew for a fact that he would keep it in and let it eat away at him. He knew he was not the person to try and talk to Ichigo though; he was not close enough to try and get through to the orange/red haired man. He would simply have to wait until everyone was awake to find out what it was that was bothering Ichigo so much, although he had almost no doubt that it had to do with his absolute lack of any spiritual pressure in his body.

* * *

_Well there you guys go, I hope I came away from the last few chapters of fighting well here. After writing fights for so long it was hardtop try and tone it all down once again and admittedly I'm not too donfident I did it that too well. So in that case please let me know what you thought about this chapter as it should hopefully help me to do better in the future. As always R&R please and I'll see y'all later =] - Varrukh_


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